Pasta with Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

I have made this Pasta with Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs and Tomato Sauce many times at home, and needless to say it’s always a big hit, but for some reason it had never occurred to me to write a recipe for it.

Maybe I thought that there were enough meatball pasta recipes out there.

I wonder if, outside of vegan and other non-meat or pasta diets, every blog has a meatball pasta recipe. It wouldn’t surprise me if if that were the case, but I decided to throw my hat in the ring, so to speak.

You’ll notice that I’ve added a video at the end of the recipe. Yes, that’s another ring to toss a hat into.

We’ve been asked many times to make videos for our recipes, but this adds an enormous layer of complexity to something that already takes up a ton of my time. I’d tried it before, but I wasn’t happy with the results. This time around I seem to be enjoying it more. If you’re not following our new Youtube channel (the other one will be phased out), please do follow us; we’ll slowly build a library of videos with older and new recipes.

Or make sure you follow us on Facebook, where I’ll occasionally post videos too.

So, what do you say? I’d love to hear what you think, and if you have any recipes you’d love to see a video of (it may take a while for me to get there though, I need to start with the easy ones) please let me know.

In the meantime, enjoy, both the video, and the pretty amazing dish.

Buen provecho!

Aunt Clara

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Pasta with Mozzarella Meatballs & Tomato Sauce - Recipe & Video

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Pasta with Mozzarella Meatballs & Tomato Sauce - Recipe & Video: A classic favorite that hides a surprise that everyone will love. Because more cheese is always better!

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb [0.34 kg] minced beef
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of freshly-cracked pepper (or more, to taste), divided
• 1/2 small red onion , minced
• 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 2 1/4 tablespoons of salt (or more, to taste), divided
• 1/4 lb [0.11 kg] of mozzarella , diced
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (corn, peanut or soy)
• 2 cups of tomato sauce (use the sauce from this recipe)
• Leafs from a sprig of oregano
• Water for boiling pasta
• 12 oz [0.34 kg] of penne
• 1/4 cup of freshly-grated parmesan

Instructions

1. Making the meatballs: In a bowl mix beef, egg, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, onion, breadcrumbs, garlic, 1 tablespoon of salt and work the mixture together until thoroughly mixed. Roll the mixture into 16 equal-sized balls, flatten the balls and place a mozzarella cube in the center, shape again into balls making sure the mozzarella is completely covered.
2. Cooking the meatballs: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook the meatballs, turning carefully as they cook until they have browned. Pour in the tomato sauce, covering the meatballs. Add the oregano. Cover and lower the heat to low while the pasta is cooked.
3. Cook the pasta: Follow packet instructions for al dente pasta, adding 1 tablespoon of salt to the water before adding the pasta to it. Once cooked-through, drain the pasta.
4. Mixing everything: Taste the tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix the pasta and meatballs and tomato sauce. Remove from the heat.
5. Serving: Serve alongside the parmesan cheese.