Italian Pork Meatballs

This is by far the most popular thing I cook, my Dad is especially a fan, he always asks for them when I'm home. I serve these with spaghetti, alone as an appetizer, or in a meatball sub. This recipe is very easy and very forgiving so feel free to make substitutions depending on what you have on hand (e.g., Parmigiana instead of Romano cheese).

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten
6 tablespoons grated Romano cheese, plus more for serving
4 cloves of garlic, minced, divided
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped, plus more for serving
Kosher salt
Freshly-cracked black pepper
1 small white onion, diced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cans diced or crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup water

Start by combining the pork, bread crumbs, eggs, cheese, half the garlic, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well and form into one-inch balls. Try not to overwork the meatballs.

In a large saute pan, brown the meatballs in 2 tablespoons of olive oil on all sides. Remove meatballs from pan and set aside, they should not be fully cooked.

Add remaining olive oil (2 tablespoons), butter, onions and remaining garlic to pan. Scrape bits off bottom of pan and saute until onions are soft ~ 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and water, mix well, bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs back to the pan, cover, reduce the heat and maintain a simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove meatballs from the sauce and let rest. If serving with pasta, follow the directions on the box to cook one pound of pasta in salted water, be sure to toss the pasta in the sauce directly out of the water, sprinkle with grated cheese and parsley before serving. If serving as an appetizer, blend tomato sauce until smooth and serve on the side for dipping. If making meatball subs, slice French or Italian bread and layer with provolone cheese, meatballs and tomato sauce, sprinkle grated cheese on top.

Buon Appetito!