Pasta With Meatballs and Herb Sauce

Name: Pasta With Meatballs and Herb Sauce
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 cups finely chopped fresh basil; 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley; 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives; 1 thin slice white bread; 1/4 cup milk; 1/2 pound ground sirloin, pork or lamb or a mixture; Salt; black pepper; 6 tablespoons olive oil; 1 pound pasta; 1 garlic clove; Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: 30 to 40 minutes
Rating: 5(417)
Comments: Read comments

Before you use herbs as a main ingredient — it helps to know which ones work on a grand scale. Parsley, obviously, works in abundance: it’s clean-tasting, pleasantly grassy and almost never overwhelming. You can add literally a bunch (bunches!) of it to salad, soup, eggs, pasta, grains or beans. The same is largely true of basil, and you can use other mild herbs — chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, shiso — by at least the handful. (Mint is also useful but will easily take over a dish if you add too much of it. But all of these are great for making herb pastes, or pestos, alone or in combination. Use the same technique you use for basil pesto.)

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

2cups finely chopped fresh basil
½cup finely chopped fresh parsley
½cup finely chopped fresh chives
1thin slice white bread
¼cup milk
½pound ground sirloin, pork or lamb or a mixture
Salt
black pepper
6tablespoons olive oil
1pound pasta
1garlic clove
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Mix together the basil, parsley and chives. Soak the bread in the milk for 5 minutes, then gently squeeze any excess milk from the bread; discard the milk. Combine the bread with the meat, 1 cup of the herbs and some salt and pepper; shape the mixture into 1-inch meatballs.
Step 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs in a single layer (work in batches if necessary). Cook, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes.
Step 3
Cook the pasta in the boiling water until tender but not mushy. While the pasta is cooking, purée 1½ cups of the herbs with 4 tablespoons oil, the garlic and some salt and pepper in a mini food processor or blender; leave the sauce rough or add a little water if you want it smoother. Drain the pasta, reserving about a cup of its cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the herb sauce and most of the remaining herbs, adding the reserved liquid if the mixture seems dry. Top with the meatballs, garnish with Parmesan and the last of the herbs and serve.

Ratings

5 out of 5

417 user ratings

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Comments

Caitlin7 years ago

Made this and it was delicious. Added in more garlic (two big cloves of pink French garlic) so it had a nice bite to it. I'd double the meatball recipe if you have men in the family. We went through meatballs well before the pasta.

SLPD00D7 years ago

This was absolutely delicious. Perfect for when you have a lot of basil to harvest. Very herby meal.
Tossed the cooked pasta in the leftover meatball greasy hot pan to give it a little extra life.

Steve7 years ago

Some mixed feelings about this recipe. I liked the herbaciousness, and the flavor that come out in the meatballs was really good. Some advice that others have already alluded to or mentioned: 1) meatball portions are extremely low, I'd have about a quarter lb a person, at least, 2) meatballs didn't hold together well (maybe an egg for binding would help?) so I had a lot of meat/herbs left in the pan - rather than wasting that I drained out grease and deglazed with some pasta water.

Letitia9 months ago

This was fun to make and used up some of my basil oversupply! I had a full pound of meat so that’s what I used. I deglazed with some pasta water and used the meatball bits on the bottom of the pan. I was worried it would be too herby tasting but it was delicious! I also tripled the garlic and added lots of Parmesan to finish.

PNW Cooker1 year ago

Fantastic

elly3 years ago

I added an egg, some breadcrumbs and a little parmesan to my meatballs. Came out great! love the light sauce but honestly, I'd double the herbs to get it to fully cover 1lb of pasta. Next time will add some broccoli rabe to the herb sauce as well.

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