Italian Meatballs

These meatballs were delicious! I'm craving them right now as I write this. There are some extras in my freezer so I may have to thaw them out this week and use them. Meatballs turn out better when you use two or three different meats, usually beef, pork and veal. In these I used beef and pork. You can usually find ground pork at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. This recipe can be easily doubled. Another hint...when I mix up the meat with the other ingredients I use latex kitchen gloves. The thick yellow ones work best. The meat is so cold that it will freeze your hands and be very uncomfortable to work with. The more thoroughly you mix them the better they taste. I usually mix everything up in the morning, let it sit all day and form the meatballs right before I cook them. This allows the flavors to combine for better taste. I'm on the hunt for a recipe for authentic marinara sauce with lots of fresh herbs that simmers on the stove all day, but until then I just use sauce from a jar. If I want to splurge I buy Rao's which is expensive but very good.

1 large egg
3 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
3/4 lb. ground beef
3/4 lb. ground pork
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl whisk together egg, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and water. Add meat, breadcrumbs and cheese and mix thoroughly with your hands. Form mixture into balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 until meat is browned all the way through. To use in spaghetti sauce, place meatballs in sauce and simmer on the stove until heated through.