Baked Italian Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 shallots (finely chopped)
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley (finely chopped)
• 1 pound ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 clove garlic (smashed and peeled)
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces shredded mozzarella
• fresh basil leaves (optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. 2

   Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. 3

   Add first seven ingredients (bread crumbs through parsley) to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add sausage and ground beef, mixing well with your hands - but don't overmix, you don't want your meatballs to be tough.

4. 4

   Scoop mixture out onto prepared baking sheet in similarly sized ragged mounds with a 3-tablespoon scoop or heaped onto a standard tablespoon (these meatballs are extra large, about 3 bites each). Gently roll one mound into a ball between your palms. Repeat with remaining mounds, arranging the meatballs very close together, but not touching.

5. 5

   Bake 20 minutes until nearly cooked through.

6. 6

   Meanwhile, make the Garlicky Tomato Sauce: Add garlic and tomatoes with juice to a blender pitcher; blend until smooth. Add olive oil and blend again. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. When meatballs are nearly done, heat sauce in a saucepan to simmer.

7. 7

   Remove meatballs from oven once they're cooked through, leave oven on.

8. 8

   Spread about 1/3 of tomato sauce into a large, oven-safe baking dish. Carefully transfer cooked meatballs to dish and pour remaining sauce over.

9. 9

   Sprinkle cheese evenly over meatballs and bake until cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes more.

10. 10

    Serve garnished with fresh basil leaves if desired.