Meatballs al forno are the A-listers of the meatball set. They’re on the menu at Nancy Silverton’s Mozza restaurant in Los Angeles and they’ve got the reputation for being the best meatballs in the world. Take a bite, I think you’ll agree.
Today I’m making the fabulous Meatballs al forno, a signature dish at Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles.
This amazing meatball recipe comes from Nancy Silverton, Cordon Bleu educated chef, cookbook author, restaurateur, and co-founder of the Los Angeles based La Brea Bakery. The recipe also appears in her 8th cookbook, The Mozza Cookbook.
At the restaurant the meatballs are served Italian style, in a little bowl with sauce, not piled on top of a mountain of spaghetti like Americans eat them. I’ve come to love them this way best, and they make a wonderful lower carb light meal.
What you’ll need to make meatballs al forno
- ground pork
- veal (I used ground beef)
- pancetta
- day old bread
- milk
- Parmesan cheese
- yellow onion
- olive oil
- parsley
- eggs
- garlic
- flour
- red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt, and pepper
A combination of pork beef, and pancetta makes these meatballs extra flavorful
The original recipe calls for veal, which I don’t eat, so I substituted good quality Angus ground beef. The pancetta adds a nice flavor so I don’t recommend omitting it, although the very first time I made these I sent my husband out for the meat, and the butcher misunderstood and gave him prosciutto instead of pancetta. That worked too! I think the combination of different meats, the milk soaked bread, and all that good Parm is key to why these meatballs are so good.
These amazing oven braised meatballs take some time, but they’re totally worth it!
There is a fair amount of prep and I recommend you do it ahead, and maybe even go so far as to use those little prep dishes for your ingredients since for much of this process you will be up to your elbows in raw meat. In other words, don’t plan on chatting on the phone while you put together these babies.
TIP: When mixing the meat, Silverton advises you to “use the tips of your fingers as if you were playing the piano” to avoid tough meatballs. I find that using my KitchenAid stand mixer makes the best tool for mixing meatballs and meatloaves. It combines everything more thoroughly than I can do with my hands, but still gently so that the results are super tender.
Verdict: 2 thumbs up!
I had high hopes for these meatballs because of their reputation, and I wasn’t disappointed. They are light and almost airy…with subtle flavor. I really liked them with the simple clean tomato sauce. I ‘m making meatball sandwiches on good crusty Italian bread with the leftovers tomorrow.
Craving meatballs?
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- SWEDISH COCKTAIL MEATBALLS
- GREEK MEATBALLS IN LEMON SAUCE
- CHEESY SKILLET MEATBALLS WITH GARLIC TOAST
“One of these days, Sue, I expect to see you show up as a DNA match on my heritage page…just about every dish you post, grabs my food core! I made the meatballs tonight….they were incredible! My husband said they were the best he’s ever had! Thanks for another great recipe!”
Candace
Meatballs al forno
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup diced day old crustless bread
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (about 6 ounces)
- 1/2 large yellow Spanish onion, minced (about 1 cup)
- 2/3 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 2 extra large eggs
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, add more if you prefer
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground veal (I used ground beef)
- 6 1/2 ounces pancetta, finely minced
- All-purpose flour for dredging (about a cup)
- 1/4 cup extra- virgin olive oil, more if needed
- 28 ounce jar of your favorite tomato sauce
- 3 dried bay leaves
garnish
- Parmesan
- fresh thyme leaves or more chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Put the stale bread in a small bowl, pour in the milk, and set aside to soak the bread for about 5 minutes.
- Put the Parmesan, onion, parsley, eggs, garlic, ground red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and blend well. Add the pork, veal (or beef), and pancetta.
- Squeeze the bread to drain, and discard the excess milk. Add the bread to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix lightly with your fingertips. (I will sometimes do this in my KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment.) Make sure everything gets well combined, but don't over work, as this makes the meat tough.
- Use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop out the meat and roll each portion into a ball. Each meatball should be about 2 ounces.
- Pour the flour into a large bowl and lightly coat the meatballs in the flour, shaking off any excess. Place them on a platter or baking sheet. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for an hour (or overnight if you want to do this ahead.) This helps firm up the meatballs so they hold their shape.
- Pour the olive oil into a large Dutch oven or ovenproof skillet to about 1/4 inch deep. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it is almost smoking, about 2 to 3 minutes. Working in two batches, place the meatballs in a single layer in the pan and sear them until they are lightly browned all over, being gentle when turning them so they don't fall apart. Remove the meatballs to a plate.
- Wipe out the pan and then return the meatballs to the pan. Pour the tomato sauce over them.
- Add the bay leaves and and place the meatballs in the oven to gently cook for 1 hour. Let the meatballs rest, out of the oven, for 10 minutes before serving.
- To serve, lay the sauce down on a plate or bowl and top with the meatballs. Allow 3 per serving. Top with parmesan and fresh herbs.
Notes
- The original recipe includes a quart of chicken stock mixed with the tomato sauce, and then poured over the meatballs. I almost always omit the stock, fyi, because I like a thicker sauce.
- Even though it’s not strictly authentic, go ahead and serve these meatballs with spaghetti or over polenta if you’re craving more carbs.
- I love to slice the leftover meatballs in half, load up a split French roll with the meat and extra sauce, and then top with slices of mozzarella ~ a little time under the broiler and you’ve got the best leftovers you’ve ever had!
Nutrition
Sue these totally sound amazing! I love meatballs and will definitely be trying these and probably a few of the others posted.
Also I just sent you and email – it appears when I click on the link from MailerLite to view your post it comes up as a Mallicious site. This is the third time it’s happened but it’s fine when I type and go directly to your site. Thought you’d want to know.
Thanks Vicki, I’ve got Mailerlite fixing that, it’s some sort of glitch, the site is fine, thanks for letting me know!
That looks like a recipe that will give great meatballs. I would have to try with lamb and veal combo.
Let us know if you make it with the veal Roxana!
Those really do look like the best meatballs I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing how large they are and still look light.
Great tips for cooking meatballs and such lovely photos 🙂
There is something with meatballs – is a treat! Your recipe is great Sue! If you allow me to make a slight addition…In remembrance to my grandmother -Ifigenie, the ultimate cook-: I add 1/4 cup ouzo in the mixture, pass the onion from the cheese grader which releases all juices, and mould the meat in-between my palms very gently -as if rolling eggs-!
LOVE this Alexandra, I would never have thought of ouzo, what a wonderful flavor to add in. I wonder if it would make the mixture too wet? Might soak the bread in it rather than milk.
SO nice of you! Sue, the mixture will still be OK, and keep the milk in, you need it. Have you ever tried condensed milk?
These meatballs look absolutely amazing!! And your gorgeous pictures are not helping with the drooling
Protect your laptop or phone, Regina, I learned the hard way 😉
Goodness – it’s amazing how every time I visit your blog, I leave craving another amazing dish. My mother used to make pretty great meatballs that sound similar to these. There is nothing better than a tender well spiced meatball and piled on a roll with cheese is heaven on earth! Thank you for reviving this wonderful post and recipe!
Thanks Tricia, I enjoy reviving these old posts, I really had some great recipes when i first started up the blog, and it’s fun to bring them back to life. And meatballs on a roll with mozzarella is truly heaven on earth ~ amen!
Love the pics!
<3 Monique
They look so juicy! my husband loves meatball, but not cheese…hopefully they would still taste as good as these without cheese..
I thought as I ate these meatballs the other day that the large amount of Parm really does amp up the flavor, you could easily split the batch and make some for him without cheese and some with, for you 🙂
I was directed to your site by thekitchn.com, the primary cooking blog I follow. I never leave comments anywhere, but thought I would here in case someone was dubious of these meatballs.
I made these yesterday with a wonderful sauce and homemade chicken stock, cut the recipe in half since there are only two of us (leftovers are in the freezer for this weekend!). These were absolutely amazing, though slightly overcooked due to my negligence. I have tried for years to make good meatballs and always fail: they fall apart, they taste bland–the usual suspects. Now I understand the technique and also learned that stock really deepens the flavor of tomato sauce, and I will be adding this ingredient from now on.
Thank you so much for your blog, which I will now patronize daily and look forward to reading your new posts.
God bless.
thanks so much Jennifer— I really appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment. It’s been a while since I’ve made these wonderful meatballs, but I remember them well…welcome to TVFGI!