Cooking is a personal experience, and there’s nothing better than sharing home-cooked Pork, Veal, and Beef Pesto Meatballs with the people you love.
This recipe turned out fantastic! It came out so perfectly that I was motivated to try cooking some more, and long story short, here I am today, sharing one of my favorite recipes, with just one exception: rather than just use lean ground beef, this time around, I decided to use a combination of meats to make pork, veal, and beef pesto meatballs. The end result – heavenly!
The Best Pork, Veal, and Beef Pesto Meatballs
In this recipe, I decided to use a combination of meats to make pork, veal, and beef pesto meatballs. The end result – heavenly!
Ingredients
½ pound ground beef (minced beef) - lean 
½ pound ground pork (minced pork) - lean 
½ pound ground veal (minced veal) - lean 
1 large egg
1 large egg white
⅓ cup breadcrumbs - plain Italian breadcrumbs
¼ cup yellow onion
¼ cup Mozzarella cheese- 1½ tablespoon pesto spread
1 ¼ teaspoon Sea salt - to season
1 ½ teaspoon black peppercorns - coarse, to season
1 tablespoon basil - to season
1 tablespoon parsley - to season
4 tablespoons olive oil - extra virgin, to fry, add more if you prefer
48 ounce Neapolitan Sauce or Pasta sauce Southern Hemisphere (Tomato Sauce in North America) - for serving
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, mince yellow onion until puréed. With a cheese grater, grate fresh Mozzarella into fine shreds. Set both aside.
- In a large bowl, combine meats, egg, egg white, breadcrumbs, onion, cheese, pesto and seasonings. With wet hands, weave together ingredients until well mixed. Keeping hands damp, roll the mixture into 15 meatballs (about the size of two golf balls).
- In a large skillet, heat several tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over a medium-high flame. Making four at a time, cook meatballs until well browned on all sides, almost to the point of crisp (you will need 10 minutes per batch). When finished, rest on a paper-towel-lined plate to cool.
- When all meatballs are cooked in a large pot, heat tomato sauce to a low boil. Add meatballs to the sauce and lower flame, allowing the combination to simmer for 1 – 6 hours. When ready, plate and serve over pasta or with a side of bread.
Notes
If possible, have a splatter screen handy when frying. To know meatballs are finished, always remove one ball from each batch and cut through the middle. When the inside has no pink coloring, they are fully cooked. Wash off skillet in between batches to discard any burnt bits left behind, then re-coat with extra virgin olive oil before frying again.
Nutrition
Calories: 172kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 11gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 707mgPotassium: 435mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 487IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 2mg
How did this recipe turn out for you?We’re eager to hear your thoughts!
