Italian meatballs

Size matters

You can make a meatball just about any size. I suggest experimenting, because the taste can vary with the size. I usually try to make my meatballs a little bigger than a golf ball. If you intend to eat them in a sandwich (see below), than make them about golf ball size. Another important item is to use lean ground beef and stay away from the fatty hamburger meat.

Ingredients (6 servings):

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup bread crumbs (fresh if you can make them)
• 4 garlic cloves diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 to 2 cups Botticelli's rich Italian tomato sauce

Preparation

It is fairly basic. Put the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl, and mix them with your hands. Then form balls a little large than golf balls. Place the olive oil in a pan and heat. Place the meatballs in the pan and fry on all sides. They do not need to be cooked completely but make sure you brown them.

Finishing touches

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the meatballs on a plate covered with a paper towel, and let the oil drain until the oven is ready. Place the meatballs in a bowl and pour 1 to 2 cups of the tomato sauce over them (The amount will depend on how much tomato flavor you want.). Cook for 50 minutes.

Meatball sandwiches

If you want, you can cut Italian bread in half and place meatballs in the center. Cover with some of the sauce and sliced fresh mozzarella cheese and place in the oven until the cheese melts. Now I don’t care what you say, that’s good eating.