Name: pasta, pesto, pecorino... meatballs!
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 300 g pasta ((cellentani)); 100-200 g green pesto; 1-2 tbsp olive oil ((or cream)); salt; 400 g minced meat ((beef only)); 1-2 clove of garlic ((pressed)); 1 tsp dried parsley; 2 eggs; 100 g grated pecorino; 2 tbsp fine bread crumbs; some water; 2-3 spring onions; some olive oil; salt & pepper

… & my series of pasta dishes continues while we are still in Northern Spain!

I learnt from the foodblog universe that „pasta w/ meatballs“ originally isn’t Italian, but an American invention (same as for Alfredo, chicken parmigiano …), however, I stumbled also about some pasta recipe creating very tiny meatballs. Inspired by this post I started my own version of pasta w/ meatballs.

I managed to create some creamy pasta w/ lots of pesto & on top meatballs – not tiny meatballs, not big meatballs like hamburgers: more some size in between w/ a rather soft texture & crispy bottom & top.

Let’s start …

What do we need?

First I grabbed for cellentani – big curly pasta able to get coated w/ lots of pesto …

… so for the pasta:

cellentani
green pesto w/ basil & pecorino

…& for the meatballs:

minced meat (organic beef only!)
fine breadcrumbs
dried parsley
garlic
spring onions
eggs
freshly grated pecorino.

We start preparing the meatballs.

Breadcrumps & parsley are mixed; then some water is added. Add enough water that the breadcrumbs get soaked & squishy, but don’t let it become mushy, i. e. be tight w/ water.

(If you don’t happen to have some freshly grated pecorino in your fridge from yesterday or so, then start grating pecorino now.)

Chop the spring onions – as fine as possible.

In a big bowl we assemble the meat, the squishy breadcrumb mix, the chopped spring onions, the eggs & the pecorino. Roll up your sleeves & start kneading. Don’t forget salt & pepper to taste.

Form meatballs & arrange them in an oiled frying pan.

Start frying at high temperature. The meatballs shall get crispy outside. Be careful when turning them over because they are rather soft inside & like to crumble.

It won’t take longer than 15 min to get the meatballs well done.

Parallel to the frying we cook the cellentani in salted water, drain them & add the green pesto at once. If you think it’s too dry just add some olive oil or cream to taste.

I used green pesto from my trusted food store. Of course I know that we can make our very own pesto from scratch… Just buy fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, grate pecorino, add olive oil…

Years ago I had a nice small fancy mortar w/ pestle (main characteristic: „small“). I wasn’t really happy w/ it: it was tiny & I could only pestle very small amounts of whatever. When thinking about the amount of pesto I need for my pasta dish I’m sure such a mortar wouldn’t be wise. Therefore: if you think you’ll have to prepare pesto from scratch make sure to lay hands on a mortar of appropriate size or use a food processor.

For the rest of us just ransack the pasta corner of your trusted food store for ready-to-use pesto made w/ premium ingredients w/o any artificial whatever.

Now we just combine the cellentano w/ pesto & our crispy, soft meatballs. When mixing cellentani & meatballs the meatballs crumble & you get a nice pasta mess.

It’s best when served immediately!

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

pasta, pesto, pecorino… meatballs!

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Servings: 4

ingredients:

for the pasta:

300 g pasta (cellentani)
100-200 g green pesto
1-2 tbsp olive oil (or cream)
salt

for the meatballs:

400 g minced meat (beef only)
1-2 clove of garlic (pressed)
1 tsp dried parsley
2 eggs
100 g grated pecorino
2 tbsp fine bread crumbs
some water
2-3 spring onions
some olive oil
salt & pepper

how to:

Take a frying pan & oil the bottom.
Add pressed cloves of garlic & eggs to the minced meat.
Mix breadcrumbs & dried parsley w/ some water; the breadcrumbs will soak up the water: it shall become a creamy (not liquid!) mess – then add to the minced meat.
Chop the spring onions & add to the minced meat.
Grate the pecorino & add to the minced meat.
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Knead the minced meat until all is incorporated & form small meatballs.
Place the meatballs in the frying pan & fry at high temperature for some minutes; the bottoms of the meatballs should be crispy.
Try to turn the meatballs – attention: it tends to become a mess because the meatballs are rather soft.
In parallel: cook the cellentani in salted water as long as demanded (see package).
Drain & add green pesto immediately.
Add some olive oil or cream if it seems too dry!
Put pasta & meat balls on plates & serve immediately.

Notes

Cook Time: it’s about 15 min if you do meatballs & pasta in parallel. 15 min for the meatballs mean that they are well done & crispy on top & on bottom, but soft & crumbly inside.

Green pesto: I used a ready-to-use pesto w/ basil, pine nuts, pecorino, garlic… a rather intensive pesto from my trusted food store. It depends on you how much pesto to add to the pasta. For 300 g cellentani I recommend 100 g as minimum. If it’s too dry w/ the minimum just add some olive oil or cream. If you prefer more pesto flavour just add more pesto.

Minced meat: I used organic beef; therefore there was almost no water in the frying pan when frying. The meatballs are rather delicate & tend to break easily. If there is a lot of water it’ll become a real mess!

Garlic: I had rather big cloves of garlic on my kitchen shelf – so 1 clove was ok. If smaller use 2 of them.

Pecorino: I took pecorino because the pesto was also made w/ pecorino. In general you might also take grated parmesan.

Fill the plates w/ pasta & meat balls on top & serve immediately. You may mix pasta & meatballs, but then the meatballs will crumble (which isn’t bad at all for the pasta dish!).

You may store leftovers in the fridge for a day or so; reheat in the microwave. It’ll get a little dry so add some olive oil or cream when reheating.