Mamma’s Meatballs

These all-beef meatballs are prepared al sugo, formed and simmered in fresh tomato sauce are ready in under an hour. They are moist and flavorful and taste as though you’ve been simmering them all day.

E very Sunday morning as a child, I would wake up to smell of garlic sauteeing in olive oil as my mom prepared ragu – a trio of meats cooked in tomato sauce from tomatoes she had processed and jarred herself over the summer. She would cook before we left for church and Sunday school, so that we could have a traditional Sunday meal around on the afternoon. We’d start with pasta with salsa di pomodoro, followed by meatballs, beef cuts, and brasciole and a salad. We’d have fruit and then finish the meal with dessert and espresso. Afterwards we’d all nap and then head to visit both of my grandmother’s (who happened to live across the street from each other) for more coffee, cakes, and snacks and return home late in the evening. These meatballs, which were a part of the traditional ragu taste like Sunday afternoons and easier days.