These meatballs were made from a whole brisket where we trimmed off a lot of the fat and ground the beef ourselves. The meatballs came out flavorful but not too spicy just flavorful. They are moist but not mushy. I was told that they are very good! My idea of serving size will differ from your idea of serving size. With a small size scooper this made 76 and two mini taster meatballs. So that makes 15 or more servings (15-20) depending on how many you eat at a time and the size that you make the balls.

3 lbs ground brisket (preferably on the lean side)

1 large sweet onion – minced

1 Tablespoon bomba (Calabrian Italian hot pepper condiment)

1/2 cup parsley leaves

6 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1 Tablespoon ground black pepper

4 Tablespoons vegetable base (adds flavor and lowers the salt content)

6 eggs – beaten

8 oz whole wheat panko (Japanese bread crumbs that are lighter and airier)

3 Tablespoons dried basil

1 Tablespoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons dried marjoram

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

4 Tablespoons water ********YOU MIGHT NEED LESS OR MORE depending on how the beef looks…my meat was very lean and I guessed 4 Tablespoons…and it was right. Don’t add too much or they will come out mushy. If you don’t know if you need water do your tester meat ball now (before you add water and see if it is too dry. If you add water add two tablespoons and do another tester meatball….so you can guess better.

non stick spray

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F and spray some baking sheets with non stick spray and set to the side.

In a large mixing bowl add EVERYTHING except for the meat and mix well.

Now mix in the beef till it’s all incorporated.

Do a tester 1/2 size meatball in the oven. It will be done in 6-7 minutes. Let it cool and taste it. Decide if it needs a little more moisture. Add maybe 2 tablespoons water and taste again. Add only 2 Tablespoons more water at a time till you like the meatballs. Use a small scooper and space the meatballs slightly.

Fill up the oven and they will be done in around 15 minutes if you used the small scooper.

Serve with your favorite tomato sauce or the winter tomato sauce recipe from The Forking Truth.

Forking Good!

The dough for these ravioli is based on hand rolled ravioli by Cooks Illustrated Magazine. I did that recipe and had trouble with it due to not using the brand flour they recommended (King Arthur). They did explain that all brands of flour are ground different so you will have a different result with each brand of flour. I’ve found that with other brands that you might need up to 1/3 cup more flour. I do love the recipe very much because it’s easy to hand roll pasta this way and you don’t have to mess with a machine. I did add salt to the original recipe because I felt it needed a small amount of salt. I happened to have spinach and delicious Taleggio cheese to use at home so that is what I filled them with. You have many choices of sauce that would work well with these ravioli. You could do browned butter, a thin white sauce laced with parmigiana, a tomato sauce, a meat sauce. I did something different but delicious. I used some of my tomato sauce. I added the drained spinach water that had lots of flavor in it and I also added the leftover spinach Taleggio ravioli filling to my tomato sauce and it tasted great and went well with the ravioli. This recipe make 12 big ravioli. My idea of serving size will differ from your idea of serving size. I think about 2 ravioli (to be eaten as a starter or side) is a serving but my husband would say that he needs at least 5 ravioli…. see what I mean? This recipe makes 12 big ravioli…Serve it the way you want.

Ingredients for around 3 servings

2 eggs

3 egg yolks (one white needs to be save and mixed well to seal ravioli)

1 cup all purpose flour plus extra to roll *****(with some brands of flour I’ve found that you might need up to 1/3 cup more flour*****)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 pinches sea salt

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (filling)

9 oz spinach (filling)

3 1/2 oz sweet onion – sliced extra thin..slightly chopped (filling)

1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane (filling)

ground black pepper to taste (filling)

ground sea salt to taste (filling)

2 pinch ground white pepper (filling)

few grates fresh nutmeg (filling)

1 crushed dried Calabrian chili or a pinch of dried crushed red pepper (filling)

4 oz Taleggio cheese cut in small pieces (filling)

1/4 cup semolina flour or corn meal for laying the ravioli before you cook them

Directions

Heat up a big fry pan on medium high heat with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot add the onions. They will cook up like in a minute if you sliced them thin. Then add the spinach and then add the garlic, salt, peppers and nutmeg. Add the Taleggio last and take off heat and place spinach mixture in a colander that is over a bowl to drain. Put this to the side.

Make dough.

Either by hand with a fork with a bowl or in a food processor. Combine eggs, yolks, flour (you might need up to a 1/3 cup more), 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 pinches sea salt. Mix well till it feels like a smooth ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest 20 minutes.

Either roll on a rolling mat or a large cutting board. Cover surface with some extra flour and add a small amount of flour to the top of dough so that the dough doesn’t stick to it. Also you need to line some sheet tray(s) with parchment paper and put a semolina (or corn meal coating for your ravioli to rest on.

Ok now roll out some or all of the dough very thin. You can make them any shape or size you like. Mine were 3 1/2 in ch circles)

Now you use your reserved egg white to use like glue for the ends of your raviolis. Use either a pastry brush or your finger to paint on the egg white on the edges of the pasta. Filll with about a tablespoon of filling (drain the filling as you go). Slightly stretch the top layer like a pizza dough because it needs to be slightly bigger to fit over the filling. Pinch the edges together with your finger or a fork. Each ravioli needs to be placed on a semolina (or corn meal) lined pan or even a towel.

Gently boil the ravioli in either salted water or sauce. They cook up very fast like 1-2 minutes a side. I cooked mine in my tomato sauce (recipe on site) that I added the spinach water and leftover spinach filling. Topped them with some grated parmesan cheese.

Delicious I think everyone will like them!