Tortellini With Meatballs
We have had enough ribs and BBQ to last us at least another week or two, we are seriously overdosed on all we ate for the past 2 days. Today we both wanted something about as far as we could get from BBQ and so I made Tortellini with Meatballs. It came out pretty good and will only get better when the sauce gets re-heated after cooling down overnight. I used Celantano Frozen Cheese Tortellini, they are the only kind we can get here in the deep south, I wasn’t in the mood to hand make some today, these are OK but don’t campare really to hand made ones, then again it will usually take me a good couple of hours to make them fresh and I really appreciated not having to do that today.
Tomato Sauce
1 stalk celery, washed and chopped finely
1 large carrot, scraped and finely chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and smashed
1 cup diced small onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon fresh oregano chopped
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
2—28 ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
6 large fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar (if needed, if tomatoes taste a little bitter)
Heat a 3-4 quart saute pan, when hot add the oil and let it heat. When the oil is hot add the onion, salt , carrot and celery mixture, let it saute until it gets some color about 10 minutes on medium-low heat, keep stirring it so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. When it is nicely colored add the garlic, crushed red pepper and oregano and stir and cook until it is fragrant, about 2 minutes on low. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, allow half the wine to evaporate and then add the tomatoes and 1/2 can of water, bring to a simmer and cook for 40-60 minutes until reduced a little, taste and add the sugar if it is needed, when finished add the fresh basil to it.
Meatballs
2 pounds ground beef or mixture of beef and pork
1 cup onions, diced and sauteed until soft and cooled
2 cloves fresh garlic, smashed and sauteed with the onions
3 slices white bread, grind in food processor or Ninja machine
1/4 cup whole milk
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
3/4 cup fresh grated parmeasan cheese
Place everything into a large mixing bowl and combine thoroughly, make meatballs about the size of a golf ball and then saute them until browned all around in the olive oil, drain and add to the sauce and continue to simmer for an hour. Serve with ravioli or your favorite pasta, you can also slice them and layer them into lasagna. The sauce will thicken up more as it cools.
This looks and sounds delicious! I have some Tortellini in the house. Lets talk meatballs…. my husband just loves meatballs. I’ve always made not too differently then your recipe, but I cook them in the oven first. In the past, I’ve had problems with them sticking to the pan or falling apart. Do you use a non stick pan? I have both stainless and non stick.
Kuby,
I do meatballs all kinds of ways. Most times I brown them in a stainless skillet (remember to pre-heat it well then add a little oil)or I will bake them in the oven too, especially if I have something else going in there. I brown them mostly to drain off some of the fat and to make sure they hold together…….I’ve had them completely disintergrate a few times and I would rather know how they are going to hold up before I put them all in the pot of sauce and then find out it has become a big pot of chili like substance instead of meatballs. I’ve also been known to brown them in a non stick pan. My preference is tin lined copper but as I know most people don’t use them anymore I usually go with stainless so thats what I reccomend to people, just be sure to let it pre-heat and add a bit of oil and let that heat too and it shouldn’t give you any trouble, keep the flame to medium low when you add the food and let it brown before you try to move it then it will release easy. Hope this helps…….thanks for writing. Mattie
Mattie,
I’ve been reading about your cooking here and on the PC forum at Yahoo. My question is, do you make your meatballs from frozen meat? I purchase meat in larger amounts at Sam’s Club and then freeze. Probably I should make meatballs at that point… but I don’t. Having read your post on this meal, I wondered if your meat was just purchased or frozen. I’m enjoying your ideas and plan to try a few of your recipes. Thanks for sharing your skills! Lynn
Lynn,
I do the same as you. I buy bulk packages at Sams and break it down and freeze it in amounts that we use. For the most part my meatballs are usually made with meat that has been previously frozen. If when I am mixing the ingredients together I think they are a little too wet because of the frozen meat holding more water I just add a little more bread crumbs, add them a little at a time until the mixture feels right. I also save old garlic bread and let it get dry and grind that up for crumbs for meatballs, a bonus because the bread already has seasoning on it. Thanks so much for writing, I’m glad you found some things to try out here, we can all use some new to us dishes every once in awhile, we get bored here with the same old thing every week so I do try to change things up but it’s hard cause hubby isn’t too adventurous……basic meat and potatoes for him.