Recipe
This Recipe For Gigantic Meatballs Has An Old Sicilian Secret
The following excerpt and recipe for Gigantic Meatball with Marinara Sauce is from Dan Pelosi's new cookbook "Let's Eat: 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart & Home," available now on Amazon.
On any given day when I call up Bimpy [ed. note: Bimpy is Pelosi's grandfather] and ask him what he’s doing, he will most likely reply, “Making meatballs?” in a tone that questions the audacity of my question. Bimpy’s meatballs were the gigantic centerpiece (literally, these are the biggest meatballs you’ve ever seen) of every single meal our family ate at his house, and I learned a lot from watching him construct them. As I began cooking my own meatballs in my early twenties, I kept a lot of what he taught me, like the raisins, which are an old Sicilian tradition, and added a few elements of my own, like fresh mint and homemade breadcrumbs. And that’s how basically all my recipes come to be: respect for the past with a dash of the present, which is the best way to cook. After we crisp up the outsides, the meatballs simmer in the marinara to cook through while staying moist. The flavors meld, taking the dish to a place you have never thought possible.
Gigantic Meatballs
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr
- Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
- 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
- 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- Large handful chopped fresh basil leaves
- Large handful chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- 1 cup raisins
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 8 cups Grossy’s Marinara see below or store-bought marinara sauce
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Cooked pasta your choice such as spaghetti for serving
- Garlic bread for serving - optional
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
*Note: Bimpy literally makes one hundred meatballs regularly just to freeze. If you want to be like Bimpy, do so before you drop the meatballs into the sauce. After searing, let cool completely, then place them in a zip-top bag and freeze. When you are ready to use them, defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then proceed with the marinara simmer to finish cooking and warm through.
No two cooks make marinara the same way, and no two pots are ever exactly the same, but that’s the beauty of the sauce. This method is my tried-and-true, developed over decades of trial and error, but the door is wide open for interpretation. Use what you love and be open to tweaking it as you aim for your idea of perfection.
The only goal is a simmering sauce that you want to slather over everything—and slather it you will, in all the recipes in this chapter.
Grossy’s Marinara
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hr
- Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins
- Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 10 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 pounds medium quartered plum tomatoes
- 2 28-ounce cans tomato puree
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- A handful fresh basil leaves roughly torn
- Sugar as needed
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Recipe reprinted with permission from Let’s Eat: 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart & Home by Dan Pelosi © 2023. Published by Union Square & Co.