All, Meat, Recipes

Meatballs with Caper-Studded Tomato Sauce

By Casa de Suna

Published Dec 01

As if classic meatballs aren’t already delicious enough–we decided to throw some umami flavor in by studding the sauce they sit in with capers.

Pro tip: when you’re making the sauce, add your water to the empty passata jar and shake before pouring. This’ll help loosen and release every last drop of passata for maximum flavor.

How to Make It

Difficulty: Easy

Overall Time: 1 hr 5 min

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Meatballs

⅓ cup dried breadcrumbs
⅓ cup whole milk
1 lb (454 g) lean ground beef
¼ cup very finely chopped parsley
1 large egg
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
23 oz (680 mL) jar good quality passata
1 cup water
1 basil sprig, plus extra leaves to garnish
2 tbsp capers, drained
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to garnish

Instructions

For the meatballs, arrange rack in top third of oven. Preheat to 500°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.
Combine breadcrumbs with milk in a medium bowl. Let it stand until milk is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
Add beef to breadcrumb-mixture along with parsley, egg, garlic, and salt. Season with black pepper. Mix well until fully combined. Working with roughly ¼ cup of meat-mixture at a time, roll into 10 large meatballs. Set on prepared baking sheet, at least 1-inch apart. Bake in the top third of oven until meatballs are nicely browned, approximately 18 to 22 minutes.
Meanwhile, for the sauce, heat oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add garlic and salt. Cook, stirring often, until garlic is soft, about 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Stir in passata, water, basil, and capers. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, to lightly thicken, about 10 minutes.
Place meatballs into sauce, then immediately cover. Continue cooking, stirring and turning meatballs occasionally, until meatballs are very tender, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
6. To serve, discard basil, then transfer meatballs and sauce to a serving platter. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately with a baguette or pasta.