Today is National Meatball Day, a day set aside to celebrate meatballs in all their incarnations: Spaghetti and meatballs, Swedish Meatballs, Meatball Sub, Meatball Pizza, Turkey Meatballs, Lamb Meatballs, Porcupine Meatballs…

I’m sharing a family-favorite recipe. While I prefer to use lean ground beef, any combination of veal, pork, and regular beef will work. I usually eat the meatballs with pasta, but they can be thrown into a soup or eaten on their own with an accompanying side dish or salad.

Ingredients

1 kilogram lean ground beef
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 cup Romano cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 garlic clove, minced
1 onion, finely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Grease two large baking sheets with canola oil.

3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

4. If the mixture is too soft, add more bread crumbs.

5. If the mixture is too hard, add more milk.

6. Form into balls and place 1″ apart on the baking sheet.

7. Bake for 10 minutes on each side.

Yield: Makes 35 to 40 meatballs.

Buon appetito!