Meatballs in Chili Oil Purgatory
With fresh thyme, chili oil and a mountain of pecorino
With fresh thyme, chili oil and a mountain of pecorino
The main thing that’s always kept me from making meatballs is dealing with them in their raw form—not the most enjoyable sensory experience. Enter a good cookie dough scoop: all of my problems were solved and now they’re something I find myself making more often. For this dish, you could easily add some bucatini or spaghetti for a very obviously classic bowl of pasta, but sometimes I just want the sauce and not the pasta itself. As for the leftovers: there weren’t very many, which is always a good sign, but with what I did have to work with I made the most delicious pizza-toast sort of situation, which you’ll find more info on at the bottom of this post 🍅
For the sauce
Several generous glugs of olive oil, enough to coat the bottom of the saucepan
7 large garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings
1/8th tsp chili pepper flakes
Crushed tomatoes, 1 28oz. can
Fresh thyme, 6-8 sprigs
1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
For the meatballs
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 lb. ground lamb or beef
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon ground basil
Kosher salt
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of chili pepper flakes
For serving
Chili oil, for drizzling
1 cup freshly grated parmiggiano or pecorino
Flaky salt
1/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
2 slices of bread
1-2 large garlic cloves
Directions
Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Let it warm through for 5 minutes, then add 1/8th tsp of red pepper flakes, 7 cloves garlic, and the thinly sliced shallot into the pan. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, then stir around the pan occasionally over the next 5 minutes.
Add all of the crushed tomatoes into the pan with 6-8 sprigs of time, 1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, then turn the heat up to medium-high. Let it start bubbling sporadically (8-10 min), then turn back down to med-low. Leave undisturbed for 20 minutes, then let sit on low heat until ready to combine and serve.
To make the meatballs, add 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs, 1 pound ground beef or lamb, 2 large eggs, 1/2 tsp. onion powder, 1/2 tsp. cumin seed, 1/2 tsp. ground basil, a pinch of kosher salt, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes to a large bowl. Gently fold with a spatula to combine. Use a cookie scoop or your hands to make roughly 1.5” meatballs: set aside on a parchment-lined sheet pan or large plate.
Meanwhile, heat a large cast iron over medium-high heat until nearly smoking (8 mins.). Place the meatballs evenly around the pan, leaving 2 inches between each: you should have no more than 6-7 meatballs in the pan at a time. Sear for 1-2 minutes per side until nicely browned—I do all 4 ‘sides’, until the internal temp. reads 135°F if lamb and 125ºF if beef.
Remove the meatballs to a plate and set aside until all are done searing: you’ll end up with ~22 meatballs. Turn the heat down a touch as you’ll be making the toast in a minute but don’t need to keep the searing heat going.
Remove the fresh thyme from the tomato sauce, then add all of the meatballs to the sauce, still over low heat, stirring well to coat. Let everything sit for 5 minutes, or until the meatballs’ internal temperatures reach 145ºF if lamb and 135ºF if beef.
Add 2 slices of bread to the hot pan that the meatballs were in, momentarily pressing down to get contact with the pan, and griddle for 1 minute per side, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and, holding the garlic clove in one hand and the toast in another, run the clove all over the toast with light pressure until fully coated, and you’ll have roughly half a clove left. Use the rest of the clove and another if needed for the second slice, then top both with flaky salt and set aside.
To assemble, add meatballs and tomato sauce to a bowl, topping with flaky salt, a generous drizzle of your favorite chili oil (you won’t need a ton to make it pop, but of course, all chili oils are different so be sure to get a gauge on the spice level before you pour), some freshly ground black pepper, finely chopped parsley, then the mountain of cheese. Dip the toast in the sauce or enjoy it alongside ❣️
For the leftover pizza toast situation, you’ll need
Buttermilk toast or any crusty bread, like sourdough
A few thin slices of cheese, I used havarti with dill and would recommend it, but mozzarella or pepper jack would be great here!
The meatballs in the tomato sauce
Flaky salt, chili oil, ground black pepper, parsley
To create your delicious little toast:
Warm your tomato sauce and meatballs in a saucepan over medium-low heat, breaking up any large pieces with a spatula until it’s showing 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer (~15 mins)
Griddle some bread in your warm olive-oil-covered saucepan or cast iron as usual, after flipping once: top with a slice of cheese or two. After another minute, remove to a plate, topping with the meatball-tomato sauce mixture.
Top it all off with flaky salt, chili oil, some ground black pepper, and another pinch of fresh parsley if you’d like.