Pappardelle e Polpette/Pappardelle & Meatballs

Hey guys! I'm super excited to be sharing this recipe with you guys! My family and I love Spaghetti and Meatballs, but I love a thicker pasta and bigger meatballs. So without further adieu, I present to you my Pappardelle e Polpette or Pappardelle and Meatballs!

So I've FINALLY updated my Marinara Sauce Recipe! It's better packed with flavour, smooth, and easily digested. I use it in my Homemade Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, etc. I am super excited to finally sharing it with you in a written recipe! Check out my latest recipe for Homemade Pasta(click here). In my latest youtube video I show you step-by-step how to put this wonderful dish together, I even show you how to roll out the Pappardelle Pasta! If you don't know, Pappardelle, is a the shape of pasta its thicker noodle(as in a width) used for pasta bakes, casseroles, for soaking up sauces like my Homemade Marinara Sauce. To check out my youtube video click here! Let's jump right into the recipe!

Serving: Serves about 4-6 people, satisfactorily. Makes about 25 golf ball sized meatballs, and 30 smaller meatballs

Cooking Time: 50 minutes to an hour

Cooking Tools: Griddle, Sheet Pan, & Tongs

Serving Dish: Cast Iron Skillet(or whatever you have)

Ingredients

A batch of My Homemade Pasta(click here!) Roll into Pappardelle Shape or use store bought Pappardelle( click here to check my video how to roll it out!)

Marinara Sauce

3 (24 oz) cans of Traditional Tomato Sauce

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, smashed into a rough paste

4 tablespoons of light tasting olive oil or vegetable oil

4 leaves of fresh basil

1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, or to taste

3 teaspoons of dried oregano leaves

1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning

a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried rosemary

1/4 bunch of fresh (curly style) parsley chopped, or 3 tablespoons of dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of minced dried garlic flakes

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of granulated sugar

Pot of boiling water that has been salted generously and a drizzle of oil(this helps with keeping the noodles from sticking together, so don't skip it!!)

Fresh Parmesan

Extra Fresh Basil

1/4 block of Mozzarella, cubed

reserve a about a 1/4 cup of your starchy cooking water

Polpette/Meatball Mixture

Makes 25 larger golf ball sized meatballs(as shown in the video) or 30 smaller meatballs

3 lbs. of ground beef, turkey, or chicken

2 cups of french bread or regular white sandwich bread, cubed

2 tablespoons of freshly grated parmegiano rregiano or 1/2 cup of dried parmesan

3 teaspoons of parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

2 teaspoons of dried oregano leaves

2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning

1 cup of whole milk

1. Preheat your oven to 375*F. For the Meatball mixture: in a large mixing bowl, pour in your bread along with your seasonings. Toss that together, then pour over your whole milk and let it sit for a couple of minutes until the bread soaks up most of the milk. Next, of course with clean hands gently mix in your ground beef or turkey until fully incorporated, then cover with plastic wrap while your prepare the marinara sauce.

2. For the Marinara Sauce, start by heating your olive oil on medium heat(I put the handle end of wooden spoon and once it bubbles slightly around the spoon that's how you know it's ready!). Next, pour in your herbs this includes: fresh basil, rosemary, and parsley, oregano flakes, Italian seasoning. Cook the herbs until they are toasted, DO NOT burn them, this is just to release the oils from the herbs into the sauce. Then, pour in your onions and cook them until the onions become translucent. Lastly, add in your garlic and cook for a few minutes until very slightly browned.

3. Pour in your traditional tomato sauce, ensuring to get every bit out of your jar!(I use a little bit of water to get most of the remaining bit out! You don't want your sauce to be watery just get as much as you can out!). Stir it together, and turn it to medium low and let the sauce bubble away for 20-25 minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent sticking and burning.

4. Roll out your meatballs according to your preference of size. Start by cooking your polpette on your griddle at 300-350*F. All your wanting to do is brown both sides. Once they are browned, put them on your baking sheet and bake them for 25-35 minutes or until completely cooked in the middle. You can skip the step of browning them and just bake them for 39-40 minutes until completely cooked in the middle.

5. About 4-5 minutes before your meatballs are done, drop your pappardelle(if you are using fresh pasta 9-10 minutes if you are using store bought!) To put this together, in a large cast iron skillet, pour in about half of your marinara sauce bring it just to a bubble, add in your pasta, use your tongs to toss the pasta. Next, nestle in a few of your meatballs just to serve(your family can always come back for seconds), also put in some of your mozzarella and grate a little bit of parmesan across the top. Cover with a lid or plate and let it cook for 5-7 minutes just to give the mozzarella and parmesan time to melt.

6. Once that's done, grate over more parm and chop some extra fresh basil for garnish. Last step: Serve. I like to serve mine with Garlic Cheese Bread or My Italian Herb & Parm Bread Sticks! These recipes will be coming soon!

7. Enjoy!