Italian Meatballs In Tomato Pesto Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• For the sauce: Pour the tomatoes into a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker and crush by hand. Stir in the tomato paste, olive oil, oregano, pepper flakes, garlic, bay leaves and 2 teaspoons salt.
• For the meatballs: Place the onions, carrots, celery, parsley and garlic in a food processor and pulse to make a paste. Transfer to a large bowl and add the beef, pork, eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and 1 teaspoon salt. Form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs (you should get about 20 to 24) and nestle into the sauce in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 7 to 8 hours. Discard the bay leaves before serving.

Steps:

• Combine ground meat, salt, pepper and Italian herb mix in a big bowl, knead well.
• In a pot, heat tomato sauce and bring to a gentle simmer. Add pesto, stir well to dissolve and combine.
• Form meat mixture into 1 inch balls and carefully drop into simmering tomato sauce as they are made, one by one.
• As soon as all meat is used up, cover pot and let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring well after about five minutes. If necessary, add some water.
• Serve over oven roasted vegetables, cauliflower rice or pasta as desired.

Steps:

• Make the sauce: in a heavy saucepan cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over low heat, stirring, for 2 minutes; add parsley, basil, tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, wine, sugar, romano, salt, and oregano, and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
• While sauce is cooking, prepare the meatballs: in a large bowl combine bread (with liquid squeezed from it), chuck (it's really good if you grind your own!), eggs, romano, parsley, garlic, the oregano, salt, and pepper; mix well and form into 8 meatballs.
• In a large skillet brown the meatballs in the oil over high heat, turning them often; make sure to not crowd them in the pan, otherwise they won't brown properly.
• Transfer the browned meatballs to the sauce with a slotted spoon and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
• You can serve them with your favorite pasta right away, but these improve in flavor if they're cooled and chilled, covered, and refrigerated overnight or up to 2 days before serving.