Crites Family Stuff

Ingredients for 16 servings

• 6 slices of bread, torn up
• .75 cup milk
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 1 lb ground veal
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• Small handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
• .75 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 egg
• Salt and Freshly ground black pepper
• Cherry tomatoes, stems removed
• Bocconcini (mini mozzarella balls) look for ones about the same size as cherry tomatoes
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided and more to drizzle
• 28 oz San Marzano plum tomatoes
• .5 cup homemade or store-bought basil pesto
• Zest of lemon if using store-bought pesto
• 1 loaf of crusty bread

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Place torn bread in a small bowl with milk, making sure all bread is submerged. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine meats, garlic, parsley, cheese, egg, allspice and pepper. Squeeze excess milk from soaking bread (should be loose and in small pieces and add to meat mixture. Mix it all together will your hands.
3. Divide meat mixture in half and score each half into 8 sections. Take on of the portions of meat and slightly flatten it out. Place a cherry tomato in the center and evenly wrap the meat around the tomato, completely encasing it with meat. Repeat the process with another portion of meat and do one of the bocconcini balls, (if too large, cut the ball in half) . Transfer the stuffed meatballs to a baking sheet, using one half of the sheet for tomato and the other for cheese so you can keep track of which meatball is stuffed with what. Repeat the process until the meat is used up.
4. Drizzle the stuffed meatballs with oil and transfer them to the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
5. While meatballs are cooking, place a saucepan over medium-high heat with 2 tbsp olive oil. Add canned tomatoes and break them up with a potato masher. Add a little salt and pepper, bring to a boil and simmer while meatball are cooking. Once the meatballs are ready, remove the sauce from the heat and stir in pesto. (Use lemon zest if using store-bought pesto.) Transfer all the sauce into a serving dish and nestle all the meatballs into the sauce, keeping the cherry tomato-stuffed ones on one side and the bocconini-stuffed ones on the other. Serve with sliced crusty bread.

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