Ok, hang in there with me one last time, we’ve got to do that whole recap thing for those who haven’t been reading recently: I’ve found a great new cookbook 6 Ingredient Solutions by Americas Test Kitchen. The recipes are six ingredients and pretty easy to throw together. I’m not exactly known for following a recipe from a cookbook exactly as is (perhaps it’s a food blogger thing) so a lot of the recipes have been inspiration or a launching pad for me to create a brand new recipe. I’ve been working my way through seven days of recipes from the book, adapting as I see fit, and seeing what happens naturally, organically in my kitchen. And of course I’m writing about it for you! So our final day:
Day Seven: Spaghetti and Meatballs –The original recipe called for: meatloaf mix (which apparently is a mix of ground beef, pork, and veal), a prepared basil pesto, panko bread crumbs, tomato sauce, spaghetti, and grated parmesan.
- If you’ve been reading for any length of time I’m sure you know I’m a pasta lover. And how could a pasta lover not dig spaghetti and meatballs? I thought the idea of using pesto in the meatballs was completely and absolutely brilliant. I adore pesto, and just knew that pesto+meatball = love love love! I also use traditional bread crumbs in my meatballs, and thought substituting panko instead was a great idea as well. That being said this recipe was the ‘launching pad’ sort and I went a little wild with tweaks.
- What I actually used: angel hair pasta, ground beef (I’ve never actually seen a meatloaf mix at my grocery store before, maybe I missed it? Plus I had ground beef on hand.), a heap of tomatoes, a little butter, some onion (If you haven’t guessed I made Marcella’s Sauce instead of using a jared spaghetti sauce.), basil, olive oil, walnuts, parmesan (homemade pesto), panko, provolone, and mozzarella (I’ll explain that addition in just a moment.)
- So what happened was that at some point I was watching Diners Drive-ins and Dives, one of my favorite shows on food network. Guy went to a little mother daughter Italian place. They had cheese stuffed meatballs that looked absolutely amazing. The cheese stuffed meatball idea has been floating around my brain for a while now. I had decide to try the meatball recipe from 6 Ingredients and I guess that triple D episode just came to mind. Cheese stuffed+ meatballs + pesto. Oh my. I’m not even sure what that equals. But whatever it is it’s bound to be wonderful. The one thing I will admit is that with all these tweaks I did get away from the quick, easy, weeknight dinner thing. If you did want to speed it up, you could certainly use a jared sauce as 6 Ingredients called for (or perhaps you keep a batch of Marcella’s Sauce in the freezer?). You could use a pre-made pesto. I actually think there are quite a few brands that are very well done. But even if your in a hurry don’t give up on the meatball stuffing part. Oh so good, it’s totally worth the trouble. Perhaps make them ahead of time on the weekend and reheat to make a weeknight dinner?
- The results: Ok come on, you already know these were amazing right? Make em’ you know you want to.
Cheese Stuffed Pesto Meatballs
Wonderful cheese stuffed pesto seasoned meatballs. You can use pre-made pesto or a simple recipe for homemade pesto has been included as well. Yields aprox. 20 large 3” meatballs.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 80
Ingredients
- For Homemade Pesto
- 1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (or pine nuts)
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 1/4 tsp sea or kosher salt
- 1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- For the Meatballs
- 3 lb. ground beef (or 1 lb. each: ground beef, veal, pork)
- 1 cup panko
- 2 cups corse breadcrumbs
- 3 eggs
- 8 oz. pre-made pesto (or ingredients above for homemade pesto)
- 5 slices of mozzarella cheese
- 5 slices of provolone cheese
- Sauce
- 32 oz jar of pre-made pasta sauce or Marcella’s Sauce
Instructions
To Make Homemade Pesto
- 1.Add basil leaves, walnuts, garlic, salt, parmesan, and olive oil, to a food processor. Pulse until smooth.
To Make Meatballs
- 1. Preheat oven to 350* and prepare a baking sheet by lining with foil and greasing with spray oil.
- In a large bowl add ground beef, panko, breadcrumbs, eggs, and pesto. Mix VERY well with hands.
- 2. Divide the meat into 20 even portions. Take one portion of the meat and flatten in the palm of your hand into circular shape. This should resemble a small hamburger patty. Place 1/4 of a slice of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 of a slice of provolone cheese in the center of the patty. Fold the edges of the meat up around the cheese, sealing the cheese in the center of the meat. Gently roll to shape the meat into a sphere. Set the meatball on the prepared baking sheet.
- 3. Repeat with each portion of meat.
- 4. Bake the meatballs at 350* for 25-30 using the center oven rack, turn the meatballs occasionally so all sides become browned. Cooking in the oven allows excess fat to drip off before adding the meatballs to the sauce to simmer.
- 5. Place the meatballs in a large pot or pan and pour the sauce over the top. Allow the meatballs to simmer for 25-30 minutes before serving.
How many servings did this make? Trying to figure out calories. Thanks!
Hi Laura,
Technically this should make 12 serving- 1/4 lb ground beef is generally considered a standard serving. Unfortunately, I suspect the calories on this one are rather outrageous!
Most people use the more expensive brands, because they are more flavorful and smell better. If you are going to buy this type of oil for your cooking, make sure that you buy one that is certified as being the best. That is, make sure that the oil has been tested by an accredited lab and that it was created in a country that is known for producing high quality olive oils.