Bolognese Balls
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil ⓘ
- 1 3/4 pounds 80% lean ground beef ⓘ
- 1/2 pound mortadella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes ⓘ
- 2 large eggs ⓘ
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced ⓘ
- 1 onion, finely diced ⓘ
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley ⓘ
- 1/4 cup heavy cream ⓘ
- 1/4 cup crushed canned tomatoes ⓘ
- 1 cup bread crumbs ⓘ
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried ⓘ
- 2 teaspoons salt ⓘ
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ⓘ
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Drizzle the olive oil into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface.
- Set aside.
- Combine the ground beef, mortadella, eggs, carrots, celery, onions, parsley, cream, tomatoes, bread crumbs, oregano, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
- Roll the mixture into round, golf ballsize meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches), making sure to pack the meat firmly.
- Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid.
- The meatballs should be touching one another.
- Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through.
- A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165F.
- Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.
- People have lots of tricks for rolling meatballs, but weve found that one of the best shortcuts to help cut down on time is to use a 1/4-cup (2-ounce) ice-cream scooper.
- Simply pull a rounded scoop from the bowl of thoroughly mixed meatball mixture and drop it into the prepared baking dish, lining em up, one by one, as directed.
Nutrition & Diet Analysis (per serving)
1005
kcal
50% DV
Protein
Fat
Carbs
* % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet (FDA 2020).