That's a Sauce-y Meatball!

Who doesn't love meatballs?! Honestly they are truly a wonderful invention and the human race has known this for a long time.

Recorded recipes for meatballs have been found from ancient China and Rome!

That's a historical meatball!

Anyways; if you've got some time on your hands to stay at home and keep an eye on this dish while it simmers away in your kitchen then please, make it!

Netflix and meatballs anyone?

THE INGREDIENTS

FOR THE MEATBALLS

15 oz of ground meat
(it can be beef but 1/2 pork and 1/2 beef will make a moister meatball)
2 oz of grated parmesean cheese
3 oz of sandwich bread crumbs
(just blend a slice or two of sliced white bread in the food processor to get some moist crumbs)
1 to 2 fresh eggs
Olive oil as needed
Salt
Pepper
Optional: Finely grated zucchini or carrot or cabbage
(you will have to adjust the amount of eggs and bread to get the right consistency of "meat dough")

FOR THE SAUCE

Enough of your favorite tomato sauce to lightly submerge your meatballs
(usually about 15 oz of sauce depending on the size and shape of your pot or slow-cooker)
1 small yellow onion
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Frozen peas to taste

THE "HOW TO"

A NOTE ON HARDWARE BEFORE WE BEGIN:
This recipe only gets better the more you cook it on a low and slow flame. Pick a pot that will be able to handle long, slow cooking with a fitted lid. The best shape is oval so that you don't have to pile up too many meatballs on top of eachother. This is a great recipe for electric slow-cookers.

First the sauce: Chop your onion and open your jars of sauce
(yes of course you can make your sauce from scratch!)
Place your pan on medium heat and pour in some olive oil; enough to simply coat the pan
Throw in the onions and sweat them until they become translucent then add your tomato sauce and heat till it comes to a boil
Once your sauce is bubbling carefully taste it and see if it needs any salt, then lower the heat to keep the sauce at barely a simmer.
(If the heat is too high the sauce will evaporate and condense too much for the meatballs to be able to braise slowly and become nice and tender without burning at the bottom of the pan)
Now the meatballs: In a large bowl combine the ground meat, the fresh bread crumbs, the cheese, the salt & pepper and your optional grated vegetables along with one fresh egg and use your clean hands to mix everything together.
- DO NOT OVER MIX! You want to combine everything thoroughly but you don't want to squeeze the meat through your fingers or mix everything for so long so as to have a large meaty congealed block in your bowl. You will have a tougher or rubbery meatball by doing so.
Once combined check the consistency:
Is it too dry that a meatball cracks or crumbles when you roll it?
Then add the other egg.
Is it gooey or extremely wet and sticky?
Then add more breadcrumbs.
If it's just right then get rolling!
You can make your meatballs as small or as big as you like. Try to calculate how they'll fit in your pot so that they will be comfortable and not have to be squished tightly together, stacking a maximum of one meatball on top of another.
When your meatballs are ready slowly and gently and carefully lower them into the tomato sauce submerging them.
Should you place them all in your pot and realize you need more sauce to cover them, now is the time to open up another jar. Don't worry if it's not heated through.
Braise on low heat for a minimum of 3 hours, better 4 or 5. A slow cooker comes in handy for this dish. After 3 hours your can start checking for meatball consistency.
Once you've tasted a meatball and like its moist and tender consistency you can add as many frozen peas to the sauce as you like and let them cook for about 20 minutes to plump up and soak in some of that delicious meaty sauce.
Serve as a main course with a nice slice of bread on a cold winter's night or whenever you want! This is a meal that deserves no seasonal constraints! Enjoy it!