My husband’s family hails from Rhode Island. On his father’s side, second generation Italian and on his mother’s, Portuguese. Both have rich culinary traditions.
Grammy, his paternal grandmother, is quite the cook. My first memory of meeting her, she was chopping, mixing and hand-forming these delicious meatballs. After she cooked them, they went on to simmer in an incredibly rich sauce, infused with the flavors of pepperoni and spareribs.
This picture shows her on her wedding day, flanked by a new mother-in-law, her sister and aunts. I like to think that she may have learned this meatball recipe from one of these women, a family recipe passed from one generation to the next.
I recently bought the cookbook Frankies Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual which is filled with American-Italian staples of the same ilk. Authors Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, who are co-owners of the Brooklyn restaurant Frankies Spuntino, both cite their families, and their grandmothers in particular, with shaping their love of food.
Reading their book is what inspired me to revisit Grammy’s meatball recipe. The recipe and the ingredients are quite simple – the only flavorings to speak of are garlic, parsley, salt and pepper – but what happens when they cook, is nothing short of magical.
Serve a couple in a bowl of pasta dressed with a basic red sauce. If you have any leftovers, cleave them in half and tuck them into a soft Italian roll, topped with red sauce and a shaving of parmesan. The best meatball sandwich you’ve ever had. Heck, it’s worth making the meatballs just for that!
Grammy’s Meatballs
1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 pound of ground pork
2 eggs
4 or 5 slices of stale Italian bread, crusts cut off
¼ c chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 large garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
Tear bread into small pieces and soak in a water until soft. Remove from water and squeeze bread with your hands. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with hands until thoroughly blended. Wet hands slightly and form meatballs. Makes 8-10 meatballs.
Instead of frying them on the stove top, a la Grammy, I took a cue from the two Franks and baked them in the oven. Space the meatballs evenly on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes. The meatballs will be firm to the touch when they are cooked. Cut open to check. Simmer in sauce before serving; this adds extra flavor to the sauce and meatballs.
