Meatballs – stuffed with Mozzarella – Yes Please! These Mozza Stuffed Meatballs in Marinara with Chimichurri are great as a meal themselves, or they would be great as an appetizer. The meatballs kind of remind me of Arancini, but instead of a rice version, a meat version. I baked the meatballs this time, for ease of cleanup and also I was afraid they would break a little and I wanted the oozy cheese to stay put inside until we cut into them. The Chimichurri, was an afterthought, as we had some leftover from brunch. It added a nice brightness and cut the richness – it is a great addition to these and I think a worthy addition to the dish.
For the meatballs:
To make these Mozza Stuffed Meatballs in Marinara with Chimichurri, I used a simple mixture of ground beef and pork. To this I added, fresh parsley, parmesan, milk-soaked bread, salt, pepper, olive oil, a hint of nutmeg and a couple of eggs to bind it together. Be sure when you are mixing up your meatballs to not overmix them. In order to stuff them with the mozzarella – I formed larger sized meatballs and basically made an indent to stuff a cube of cheese and then continued to form the ball around to encase. I lined these up on a parchment-lined baking sheet and baked them in the oven at 350F for about 15 minutes until done.
Once the meatballs are done, add them to a pool of your favorite marinara sauce in an ovenproof pan. Dot with a little more mozzarella for good measure and place them under the broiler for a few minutes or so until the cheese is melty and browned a little.
Serve these up with crusty baguette slices toasted with olive oil, salt and rubbed with garlic when you bring them out of the oven!
For the Chimichurri
A simple mixture of finely chopped parsley, garlic mixed together with red wine vinegar, olive oil, a touch of oregano and salt and pepper. This sauce really packs a flavourful punch. Drizzle it over your meatballs when they some steaming hot out of the oven, or put on the side for people to drizzle over their meatballs piled up on warm crusty garlic-rubbed baguette. You can use a food processor to chop the parsley and garlic, but don’t pulverize it. then stir in the oil and vinegar after. The parsley should have a bit of texture still. Chopping it by hand works well too.
If you like this recipe you should try:
Linguine with Tomatoes, Capers and Burrata
Mozza Stuffed Meatballs in Marinara with Chimichurri
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
- 2 slices good bread
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 bunch finely chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
- 1-2 tsp kosher salt approx (to taste)
- pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup cubed mozzarella cheese approx (enough to fill)
- 2 cups marinara sauce (homemade or storebought)
Chimichurri
- 1 bunch italian parsley, chopped fine
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- Chop up your bread slices and place them in the milk. Let soak until milk is absorbed
- Mix the milk soaked bread, parsley, eggs, parmesan, nutmeg, salt, pepper and olive oil together in a large bowl. Add in your combined ground meats. Mix together until just mixed.
- Form the meatballs into partial balls, leaving an indent. Place the cubed mozza in the indent. Form the meatball to encase the cheese.
- Place the formed meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet
- Bake the meatballs once formed in a 350F oven for about 15 minutes until cooked through.
- In an oven proof dish lay a pool over marinara sauce. Put the meatballs on top. Drizzle the meatballs with a bit of the sauce and dot the pan with a bit more cheese.
- Bake under the broiler for a couple minutes or so until cheese is melty and browned.
For the Chimichurri
- Chop the parsley and garlic fine. Add in the red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
- Serve with toasted baguette (toast under the broiler, rubbed with olive oil and salt, then rub a garlic clove over the toast when hot and out of the oven) and drizzle with Chimichurri sauce.
