Frankies Spuntino Restaurant New York - Italian Meatballs

These amazing Italian baked meatballs are from the world famous Frankies Spuntino Restaurant in Brooklyn, New York! Perfectly textured, not at all dense but not falling-apart crumbly, with just the right amount of egg, bread crumbs, garlic, and cheese throughout. But what really makes these meatballs special is the addition of raisins and pine nuts. At the restaurant, they come three to an order with plenty of tomato sauce for sopping and a generous grating of Pecorino. I like to keep a bag of these delectable meatballs on hand in my freezer to pop into a pot of my Easy Spaghetti Favorite Quick & Easy Spaghetti and Meatballs. Wonderful! Enjoy with a nice glass of red wine such as Chianti. Buon appetito!

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 6-8
• Yields: 20 meatballs

Ingredients

• 2  lbs lean ground beef
• 4  slices  bread, torn in chunks (Italian or rustic white bread, about 2 packed cups)
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 4  large eggs
• 1⁄4 cup  of grated pecorino romano cheese
• 1⁄4 cup golden raisin
• 1⁄4 cup pine nuts
• 1⁄4 cup  finely chopped fresh parsley
• 15  turns white pepper
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fine sea salt
•  about 1/2 cup  dried breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the bread in a large bowl, cover with water and let soak until saturated, about 1 minute. Pour off the remaining water, wring out the bread, and tear it into tiny pieces (place back into bowl).
3. To the bread, add all of the ingredients, except for the dried breadcrumbs (which you will add in last, using more or less as necessary).
4. Using your hands, combine all the ingredients together. Form the mixture into golf ball size meatballs.
5. Lay out your meatballs on 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake for 25 minutes in a 325F oven.
6. At this point, you can cool the meatballs and hold them in the refrigerator for as long as a couple of days or freeze them for the future.
7. Serve 3 meatballs per person with a healthy helping of your favorite red tomato sauce (homemade or store bought). Top each portion with a fluffy mountain of grated cheese. Buon appetito!