I love a food that’s good to me, one that, if it had a mouth would say, I’m here to help. Meatballs will do anything for you, and it doesn’t matter what the meat is. You can make them out of lamb and in miniature and serve them with a cucumber yogurt sauce as an appetizer. If you make them out of beef, after you eat the spagetti, you can have them on a hero, or just stand in front of the fridge and eat them cold. Pork meatballs are great floating around in a chicken stock with some long asian noodles and baby spinach leaves wilted into the broth, or there is nothing wrong with turkey.
Tiny little turkey meatballs with pasta, green olives, grape tomatoes, caramelized shallot, and fresh thyme. Pick a little noodle like orchiette or short ridged penne, and don’t forget to buy a decent one. A good noodle makes all the difference.
Chop half an onion for a pound of meat. Pour some of your best olive into the pan and add the onion, along with a few sprigs of fresh thyme and even marjoram, if you have it. Add two cloves of minced garlic, a few red pepper flakes, and stir around over a low to medium heat until the onions have completely melted. You don’t have to, but if you have the time, cook the onions a little more to help develp the flavor (a good twenty minutes.). Let this cool. Add it to one pound of ground meat along with 3 Tablespoons of heavy cream, 1/2 a cup of fresh bread crumbs, one egg, 1 Tablespoon of fresh parsley, salt, and pepper.
Roll them into tiny balls, about one inch across and brown them in a frying pan with olive oil. When they are done, wipe the pan out and add a bit more olive oil. Chop three shallots, and add them to the pan.
Meanwhile, get the pasta going and season it with salt. Cook the pasta until it is al dente.
When the shallots are beginning to caramelize, add two to three cloves of chopped garlic, a few sprigs of thyme, and a pint of grape tomaotes. Allow the tomatoes to wilt. Add a half teaspoon of grated orange zest and some green olives.
As soon as the pasta comes out of the pot, toss with the half of the meatballs and the tomato mixture. Taste for salt and pepper. If you need, add a little more olive oil, a Tablespoon of butter, and a few drops of the cooking water from the pasta, along with finely chopped parsley.