This is the ultimate, feel good Sunday dinner. And I say Sunday dinner, because, unfortunately, this meal takes some work. BUT, it is sooo worth it! A lot of the work can be done simultaneously too.
I generally don’t make meatballs because I so often find them rather bland. I don’t know why, but they generally just don’t do anything for me 🤷🏻♀️. These take your meatballs to the next level! Adding hot Italian sausages, fresh herbs, garlic, and shallots, these meatballs are DELISH.
I have a bumper crop of tomatoes growing right now, and the cornerstone to my Italian cooking is roasting tomatoes for the sauce. Each sauce is slightly different, but they all have roasted tomatoes as the foundation. Baking the tomatoes for 45 minutes to an hour and a half, again, depending on the sauce, the tomatoes are left charred and caramelized. This adds such an awesome dimension to any sauce you make. And while the tomatoes are roasting, you can prep the meatballs and make the salad dressing.
Now, if you want to save time, use a dressing of your choice! This dressing is delicious and creamy. Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment saves a lot of time and muscle fatigue! But, if you don’t have one, you can make this dressing with a whisk. If you do have a stand mixer, you can make this dressing while you cook the meatballs! Multitasking!! So, I kind of changed things up with this Caesar dressing. My husband hates anchovies. HATES them. But I still wanted to capture the umami flavor that anchovies normally provide, so I added fish sauce. I know! That sounds gross!! Trust me, it’s not. It really does provide the umami flavoring anchovies normally would! And, it’s super convenient, for us anyway, because that is a staple in the house!
And oooo, let me tell you about the croutons! I made the croutons by ripping up Sun-dried Tomato & Asiago Crusty Artisan Bread. Toasted sun-dried tomatoes are awesome on a Caesar salad! I highly recommend making Sun-dried Tomato & Asiago Crusty Artisan Bread for this dinner! Use some to make the croutons and serve some on the side! And it is the best when served hot 😋.
My husband loves grilled romaine. He’s been raving about it for years, yet we’ve never bothered to make it at home. I finally caved and tried it for this dish. Now, grilling romaine is delicate because if it’s on too long, it becomes soggy and limp. And gross. Who wants that? No one. I turned the grill on high and when hot, seared one side for 2 to 3 minutes. If you don’t want to grill your romaine, don’t!
We served this without pasta. But if you want a spaghetti and meatball dinner, cook up some pasta and dish the meatballs and sauce over it! This is so YUM!
Enjoy!
The Best Sunday Meatballs with Grilled Romaine
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Italian, Sunday Dinner
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce
12 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut in half
10 garlic cloves
1 shallot, quartered
½ cup of fresh basil
1 TB fresh thyme
salt and pepper
⅓ cup red wine
Meatballs
1 lb ground beef, pork, veal mix, or 1 lb ground veal
1 lb hot italian sausages, removed from casings
1 large egg
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 TB fresh oregano, chopped
1 TB fresh thyme, chopped
2 TB Dijon mustard
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
2 TB tomato paste
1 cup bread crumbs
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tsp paprika
pinch of salt and pepper
Salad Dressing
1 garlic clove, minced
1 TB fish sauce
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
2 TB lemon juice
2 tsps Dijon mustard
3 egg yolks
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
salt and pepper
Salad
3 heads of romaine, cut in half with the ends left on (or half a head per person)
Shaved Parmesan
2 cups bread, ripped into chunks about 1” (I used Sun-dried Tomato & Asiago Crusty Artisan Bread for the croutons; the toasted sun-dried tomatoes are fantastic!)
2 TB olive oil
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 TB garlic salt
Instructions
Make the sauce
Preheat the oven to 375°.
On a baking sheet, spread out the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread out the garlic cloves, shallots, basil, and thyme. Cook for 60 minutes.
When finished, place into a blender or food processor and blend until a smooth sauce. Set aside.
Make the croutons
On a baking sheet, toss the bread chunks with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic salt. Spread the bread chunks evenly across the pan. When the tomatoes are finished cooking, put the bread into the oven. Raise the temperature to 400°. Cook until toasted, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Make the meatballs
In a large bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients. Using your hand, thoroughly mix everything. This should take a couple of minutes to ensure everything is well mixed.
Form into 8 large meatballs, or 16 medium meatballs.
Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. When hot, add the meatballs. Don’t crowd them; this will have to be cooked in batches. Turn the meatballs every few minutes until they are darkly browned on each side. Remove them and set aside on a plate while you finish cooking the rest.
Add the tomato sauce to the pan. Stir in the red wine. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir. Return the meatballs to the pan and cover. Lower the heat to medium low and continue cooking until the meatballs are cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Make the salad
While the meatballs are cooking, make the dressing. In a standing mixer with the whisk attachment on high, whisk together the garlic, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and egg yolks. Once the blend begins to thicken, add the olive oil in a little at a time until emulsified (or the dressing becomes thick like mayonnaise). Stir in the lemon juice and Parmesan and set aside.
If grilling your romaine, heat your outdoor grill over high. When hot, add the romaine face down, keeping the lid of the grill open. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes and remove. If you cook for too long, the romaine will get soft and soggy.
Toss the romaine with dressing and plate. Sprinkle croutons and shaved Parmesan on top.
Serve with the meatballs and sauce with additional Parmesan as desired.
If desired, serve the meatballs over pasta.
Enjoy!
Keywords: Sunday Dinner, Italian Meatballs, Best Meatballs, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Sunday Dinner Meatballs
