Directions

• In a mixing bowl, combine approximately 2 parts ground beef to one part Mariano’s Italian Sausage. Mariano likes to use one hot and one mild sausage for his meatballs.
• In a food processor, mix 2-3 garlic cloves, a handful of parsley, half an onion, and a glug of olive oil to aid the mixing process. Add this mixture to your bowl of meat.
• In a separate bowl, crack two large eggs and add a pinch of black pepper. Whisk until blended smooth and add to the meat bowl.
• Add a pinch of salt, careful not to over-season (Mariano’s Italian sausage is already seasoned, so try to add salt only for the ground beef in this dish). Add Italian breadcrumbs and mix by hand until an even mixture is achieved. Add breadcrumbs until the meat holds together nicely without being too soft. At this point, you can add a pinch of hot chili pepper flakes for an extra kick of spice.
• Form the meat into egg-sized balls, and fry over medium heat in a pan of olive oil until the meatballs are browned on all sides. Aim to cook the meatballs almost completely through during this step and let them finish cooking in the sauce (next step).
• Bring a jar full of Mariano’s Tomato Sauce to a simmer and add in your meatballs. Leave these to cook for at least 15 minutes depending on how thoroughly you cooked the meatballs in the last step. For the details of Mariano’s sauce recipe, refer to the video above, or to our previously posted tomato sauce recipe on this site!
• Pour the finished tomato sauce over a bowl of cooked spaghetti and mix. Top with meatballs, Italian blend cheese, and a sprig of fresh rosemary for garnish.