Bear Sauce with Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 c. parmesan cheese
- 3 T. heavy cream mixed with 1/3 c. panko
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¾ tsp. salt
- handful chopped parsley
Garlic Basil Oil
- ½ cup olive oil
- 10 smashed garlic cloves
- 1 large handful basil stems fine too
- 2 anchovies
- ½ -1 tsp. red pepper flakes optional-I skipped last time
Sauce
- 2 28-ounce canned whole tomatoes (Cento San Marzano)
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 12 T. salted butter
- 3 T. canola oil
- 2 large onions sliced in half through root and peel away skin
- 1 parmesan rind
- 1 T. salt
Instructions
Meatballs
- Mix all and roll into meatballs. (approx 15)
- Pan fry in a skillet (not same pot as the sauce) to brown.
Basil Oil
- Place all in skillet and bring to a boil.
- Lower to a simmer for 2 mins to wilt basil. Remove heat, add pinch salt and let steep.
- Let cool and food process. Then push through a sieve. Reserve oil for another use. The "goodies" will go in the sauce.
Sauce
- Heat butter and oil, letting butter start to brown.
- Add onion halves cut side down and let brown about 2 mins.
- Add tomatoes and break into smaller pieces.
- Add salt, basil oil "goodies" and cheese rind.
- Carefully, add meatballs.
- Raise heat to a boil then cover and simmer on low 1 hour.
- Remove onion halves and cheese rind after the hour.
- Crack lid a drop and simmer another hour on very low.