Who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs! When making it for guests I always had this giant doubt about it. Growing up, it was the one night you never wanted dish duty! Especially when your parents paired you, (me the youngest) with the only boy. My brother had a very good system for looking very busy without doing anything… Seriously, just ask Linda. Anyway, I decided once to just roast the whole thing so I could enjoy my guests and not look at my kitchen with embarrassment as if a peck of tomatoes had just exploded. I was not sure how it would go over with some of the Italian family members who call the sauce gravy, but like I always say, nothing ventured, nothing gained…
Roasted Meatballs and Marinara Sauce/Gravy
4 lbs ground beef 80/20 -85/15
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano
2 eggs
1 Tbs garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbs oregano
3 28 oz cans Diced tomatoes
1 cup Chianti
4 cloves garlic diced
1 onion diced
Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Mix the beef, bread crumbs, and milk together and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes. The enzymes in the milk help tenderize the meat. Add the cheese, eggs, garlic salt, pepper and seasonings. Mix very gently to incorporate all the ingredients. Over-working the meat will give you tough meatballs. In a roasting pan add one can of tomatoes to the bottom. Roll the meat mixture into 24 balls and place on top of the tomatoes. Dice the onions & garlic and add them over the meatballs. Then pour the Chianti over the meatballs. Add the additional cans of diced tomatoes and some more seasoning. I used about 2 tsp more of the Italian seasoning, oregano and the garlic salt. Cover and roast for 1 and 1/2 hours. Reduce the heat to 300°F; uncover and cook an additional 30 minutes.
The flavor is deep and rich for a tomato sauce and the meatballs are just perfect… not to mention the easy clean-up! Boil the pasta of your choice and enjoy. Delicious!
Enjoy!
Heidi
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Fabulous Fare Sisters 
Looks so good Heidi, loved your story about the dishes!
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I’m the only one who does them these days. The beauty is I only cook for 3 on a regular basis.
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Ooooh, I always love a good meatball recipe! Love the idea of baking versus pan searing them. Will definitely have to try!
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It really is very delicious… and the clean up is even more delicious!
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I love the use of heavy cream. This looks amazing and so comforting!
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The enzymes and fat really help the meat to be super tender…
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A favourite meal in our house…with a glass of Chianti too 🍷
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Always good to leave a little extra for the Chef!
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I so agree Heidi 😘
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Classic dish – love it!
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Thanks Laura!
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Easy peasy! I love the one pot roasting method!
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ME TOO!!! A real winner. Like you said, Easy peasy!
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looks delicious….I love tomatoes.
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Easy to make, easy to clean… What could be better than that!
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I agree 🙂
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Oh what a great idea to pour Chianti over the meatballs before roasting! I always roast mine before adding to the sauce, but never thought to add that! You can bet I will be trying!!!! 🙂
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By roasting the sauce and tomatoes together it was the best sauce we ever had!!! Friends were coming that night that own an upscale Italian restaurant, and they could not stop talking about it. It made me happy… especially since I was apprehensive to serve them an Italian dish. I promise it’s worth a try.
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Ok now I am soo hungry. Lol
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