Melissa has been making these meatballs for at least a decade. You can use chicken sausage instead of pork sausage but the pancetta is required. Once we didn’t have pancetta on hand and used American bacon and it was admittedly delicious. Our tomato sauce has changed a little over the years. We used to add a diced green pepper but have recently left it out in favor of a few carrots.

If you want to be really indulgent you can stuff a little piece of mozzarella in the middle of each meatball or incorporate shredded parmesan into the meatball mix. Change things up and use fresh parsley in the meatballs and use the rest to make a parsley pesto instead of a tomato sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion
• 4 oz pancetta
• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 lb. mix of spicy and sweet Italian sausage
• 1 egg
• ½ cup – 1 cup bread crumbs
• Two tablespoons of parsley (fresh or dried)
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Parmesan
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 – 4 Garlic cloves
• 28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Marjoram
• Fennel seeds
• Red pepper flakes
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Dice one yellow onion and sauté it in a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Give the onion a few minutes to soften and add the pancetta.
3. Once onions are nice and soft, about 6 – 7 minutes remove from heat and toss with parsley in large bowl to cool.
4. While the onion mix is cooling make your sauce. Sauté diced onion, carrot and garlic in olive oil with a little salt and pepper until soft.
5. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and your remaining spices. Simmer on low with a lid ajar. Stir occasionally.
6. Back to the meatballs. . . .turn your oven to 400 F.
7. In the bowl with the onion mix, add the meats and the egg. Using your hands incorporate the ingredients. Add bread crumbs until consistency allows for meatballs to keep their shape.
8. Put a wee bit of oil in the bottom of a glass or ceramic baking dish and on your hands. Form into equal sized balls. We typically get between 10 – 12 meatballs.
9. Bake until golden brown and cooked through. 30 – 45 minutes.