Pappardelle and Pesto Meatballs
Pappardelle and Pesto Meatballs
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Author:
Jill O’Brien
A fresh spin on traditional spaghetti and meatballs. Pappardelle (pronounced: pop-a-dell-a) noodles although egg based, are mostly very light, but this will depend on the brand you can find. My favorites are Rustichella D’arbruzzo or DeCecco. This recipe is a wonderful combination of flavors. For a complete meal I accompanied this dish with a Citrus Salad with Orange Chev Vinaigrette (recipe included with purchase upon request) and crusty bread. Great for a family style dinner - that kids will love, or sophisticated enough to serve at your next dinner party.
All the components make this recipe seem complicated, but the preparation is very easy and does not take a lot of time. For a super short-cut, you could buy ready-made pesto. Buon Appetito!
Ingredients
-
1 – pound Wild Idea Ground Buffalo
- 1 – teaspoon salt
- 1 – teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 – cup pesto (recipe follows)
- 4 – ounces fresh Mozzarella, torn or shredded
- olive oil
- melted butter
- 1 – 28oz. can whole stewed Italian tomatoes
- 1 – 28 oz. can crushed Italian tomatoes
- 1 – teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 – teaspoon crushed fennel
- 1 – teaspoon oregano
- 1 – teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 – teaspoon salt
- 1 – pinch chili flake
- 1 – lemon, juiced *1/4 cup
- 1 – teaspoon balsamic syrup
- 2 – tablespoons sugar
- 12 – ounces Pappardelle
- 4 - quarts water
- 2 – tablespoons salt
- 1/2 – cup pesto, or more if you prefer - room temperature
- ½ - cup Italian parsley, chopped
- Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved
- 2 - cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 2 - cups shredded parmesan cheese
- 3 - garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 - teaspoon salt
- 1 – teaspoon pepper (*I like a little more)
- 1 - tablespoon lemon juice (*I like a little more)1 - cup olive oil
Meatball Ingredients:
Quick Tomato Sauce Ingredients:
Pappardelle Ingredients:
Other Recipe Ingredients:
Basil Pesto:
*I am a non-pine-nut person. If you prefer them in your pesto, simply add them to the recipe. Recipe can easily be cut in half.
Ingredients:
Directions
Meatball Preparations:
Break ground buffalo apart in a pie pan or bowl, and press out flat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Spoon pesto over the top of the meat and cover with the shredded mozzarella.
Fold the meat into itself and mix together with hands until all ingredients are equally distributed.
Form meat into silver dollar sized meatballs, or size of your liking and place on lightly oiled baking sheet.
Chill meatballs for one hour in the refrigerator.
Position oven rack on top rung and preheat oven to broil.
For best browning, brush chilled meat balls with a little melted butter.
Broil meatballs for about 7 minutes or until browned.
*For larger meatballs increase your cooking time based on size.
Quick Tomato Sauce Preparations:
In deep pot, over medium high heat, add stewed tomatoes and smash with a potato masher, breaking tomatoes into pieces.
Add crushed tomatoes and bring to a light boil.
Add remaining ingredients, stirring to incorporate.
Reduce heat to simmer and allow tomato sauce to thicken, about 15 minutes or until desired consistency is achieved.
Season to taste with a pinch more of salt and an additional squeeze of lemon or to your liking.
Pappardelle Preparation:
Fill a large pot with water and salt and bring to a boil.
Add Pappardelle to the pot and cook uncovered for 7 minutes.
Remove from heat and strain water from the pot, leaving about 1 to 2 tablespoons of water in the pot. Do not return to heat.
Lightly warm pesto in microwave for 30 seconds.
Add pesto to the Pappardelle and toss gently.
Entrée Assembly:
Place pesto coated Pappardelle on plates or in a bowl.
Cover with tomato sauce and top with pesto meatballs.
Garnish with parsley and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.
Basil Pesto Preparations:
Place all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth. Refrigerate unused amounts for another use (and there are many).
What a yummy recipe! Beautiful and special for serving but pretty easy to make. Thanks for sharing this, Jill.
Thanks for recipe. I’m probably ready to order a fresh supply of ground buffalo.
WHAT is an aero garden?
LOVE this recipe! Have all the ingredients here…..we make our own pesto as we have 2 aero gardens going all year long with basil. Can’t wait to make it! Thanks!