Ingredients

• 1 lb Tante's premium spaghetti

• 1 cup bread crumbs and 2 lb lean ground beef

• 1/4 cup milk or water and Homemade tomato sauce

• 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 tablespoon water

• 1 large egg and 4 garlic cloves minced

• fresh parsley a good handful, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese fresh grated

• freshly ground black pepper about 15 turns of the grinder

• Salt to taste and olive oil if frying

Method

Step 1

In a small bowl mix the baking soda with the water until well combined. Set aside.

Step 2

In another mixing bowl, mix the baking soda into the breadcrumbs and mix well. Add the milk and stir together while adding more milk 1 tablespoon at a time to moisten the breadcrumbs fully. Let rest while you prep the rest of the ingredients (or at least 5 minutes).

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl add the beef, garlic, parsley, and parmesan cheese and season with about a teaspoon of salt and freshly grated pepper (if using jarred sauce, it may be salty so season to taste).

Step 4

Add the breadcrumb mixture and mix well with your hands, squeezing the mixture through your fingers until combined. Shape mixture with greased hands into even size meatballs, about 1.5 inches each (making about 16 meatballs).

Step 5

Heat about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil into a large skillet. You'll want about 0.5 inch of oil in the pan. Add the meatballs to the heated oil about 2 inches apart and brown them until crisp, turning with a pair of tongs so that they are evenly browned. Do this in batches rather than crowding the pan. Once browned, transfer to paper towels to blot.

Step 6

Stir the cooked meatballs into warmed tomato sauce. Simmer on low heat if desired for even more tender meatballs stirring often to keep the sauce from sticking to the pan.

Step 7

Serve over freshly cooked Tante's premium spaghetti.