Is there anything better than a good meatball? Whether a softball-sized Shanghainese Lion’s Head meatball, an Italian-American red sauce version served over spaghetti, or a clever Thanksgiving dinner-in-a-meatball, these recipes all pack a wallop of flavor into a single sphere.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Lou Di Palo shared his grandmother’s recipe for the meatballs that he sells at his family’s store, Di Palo’s Fine Foods, in New York City–perfect with spaghetti. See the recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs »
Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes In Sweden meatballs are served plain, as a snack; on a sandwich with beet salad; or as they are here, with mashed potatoes, creamy gravy, and tart lingonberry preserves. See the recipe for Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes »
Ciorbă De Perisoare
Pork-and-Rice Meatball Soup Ciorbă (from the Turkish çorba) is the Romanian name for a soup that has been soured¿in this case, with a generous shot of fresh lemon juice. Pork-and-rice meatballs bring savory flavor and substance to the paprika-spiced broth. See the recipe for Ciorbă De Perisoare »
Classic Meatballs
The key to making these meatballs is to brown them first in a skillet and then braise them in a sauce of red wine and tomatoes. Serve them with crusty bread or spaghetti to sop up the sauce. See the recipe for Classic Meatballs »
Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Redolent of oregano and mint, these meatballs are served in northern Greece as a meze with fried potatoes or steamed rice. See the recipe for Keftedes me Saltsa Domata »
Gobble Gobble Balls
These turkey meatballs–which appear in The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow–combine all the flavors of Thanksgiving in one perfect package: ground turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and a little bit of autumnal spices. They’re particularly great topped with a little bit of gravy. See the recipe for Gobble Gobble Balls »
Bun Cha
Vietnamese Pork Meatball and Noodle Salad In Lauren Shockey’s culinary memoir Four Kitchens, in which this recipe appears, the author writes: “After pho, bun cha is one of Hanoi’s most famous dishes and is a delicious summertime lunch or light dinner. In Hanoi, you’ll know you’re at a bun cha stand by the smoke wafting from the charcoal grills. Living in New York City, I don’t have the luxury of cooking pork on a charcoal grill, but my stove’s broiler works just fine.” See the recipe for Bun Cha »
