Veal Ricotta Meatballs

Following the theme of my freezer cleanse, this is what I did with the ground veal from my CSA share last year. I've never worked with veal before (ground or otherwise), so this was an interesting learning experience (catching the theme here???). I found this recipe for veal ricotta meatballs, and the author was so enthusiastic that I felt I couldn't not try it. In fact, she did such a great job of selling the importance of making your own ricotta cheese for the dish, that I did that too (see the post on homemade ricotta cheese)!!

Ground veal from Simmons Farm

Once the ricotta was done, putting the meatballs together was pretty easy. The first step was mixing the ingredients - ricotta, veal, two eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg (?!), and a cup of parmesan and romano blend.

Pre-meatballs

The ricotta was quite sticky and was very sensitive to temperature changes. The more I worked it, the more it stuck to my hands. To roll the meatballs, I coated my hands in flour. That did an excellent job of keeping the mixture from sticking to my hands. I also dusted the baking sheet to keep the meatballs from sticking to it, and that worked very well. The recipe says to roll 9 meatballs...but holy crap...they would be HUGE!!! I honestly prefer smaller meatballs, but I suppose the giant ones are somehow more gourmet or something??? Anyway, I got 12 pretty big meatballs (and one Alex-size meatball) from the mixture, and they were quite large.

Aren't they gorgeous? My meaty babies.

The next step was to cover them and let them chill in the fridge for an hour. While they were chilling, I cleaned up the kitchen. :) Once they were chilled, I fried them in oil. This was a new experience for me - I've never used oil to fry anything. I wish there was a way to bake these without them drying out. I'm guessing the reason the recipe calls for them to be fried is because A) everything tastes better fried and B) frying makes a somewhat crispy outer shell that prevents the meatballs from drying out. So...I put what felt like a ton of oil into my largest skillet and heated it. This part was a little scary to me because I've been hit with hot oil before, and it really hurts! I was extra careful, and thankfully it was a fun and safe experience.

They look like scallops, but they're not!

Once the meatballs had been cooked enough so that they were golden brown on both sides, I removed them from the oil and let them soak in tomato sauce. This recipe could be kicked up one more notch if the tomato sauce was homemade, but that would be expensive (I don't have tomato vines) and time-consuming. Maybe once I become a homesteader...

The meatballs enjoying a soak in the tomato sauce hot tub

Oh, I almost forgot - I made Alex a special meatball that I removed from the oil, dabbed with a paper towel to remove the excess oil, and presented to him as a gift of love.

It was just beautiful!

Alex with his very special meatball

After it was cool enough, I broke it into small bites (as cheese oozed from everywhere), and Alex DEVOURED it! He absolutely loved it. Have I mentioned that his favorite food is cheese? I couldn't help myself...I ate a tiny bit of his meatball. :) It was AMAZING! Seriously...these could be served without tomato sauce (or with a number of other great sauces), and they would be wonderful just on their own!

So...after a 30-minute soak in the hot tomato sauce, the meatballs were ready. I made myself some rice pasta spaghetti and enjoyed one of the best meals I've had in a long time! I would definitely make these meatballs again. They would be perfect for a dinner party! Crack open some wine... Bake some garlic bread... Fix up a nice salad... And finish it off with a wonderful tiramisu! :)

"On top of spaghetti..."