Mom's Kitchen

Rao's Meatballs
	Ingredients 1-lb - ground lean beef 1/2 pound - ground veal 1/2 pound - ground pork 2 - large eggs 1 cup - freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese 1-1/2 tablespoons - chopped Italian parsely 1/2 small garlic clove, peeled and minced 2 cups - bread crumbs 2 cups - lukewarm water Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup - fine quality olive oil	Instructions Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Using your hands, blend ingredients together. Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add water. 1 cup at a time, until the mixture is quite moist. Shape meat mixture into balls 2-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter. The size helps to highlight the difference between the outer crispness and inner tenderness, part of the gluttony inherent in this meal). Heat oil in a large saute pan. When oil is very hot but not smoking, fry meatballs in batches. When bottom half of meatball is very brown and slightly crisp, turn over and cook the upper half. When fully browned, remove from heat and drain on paper towls. Lower meatballs into simmering marinaro sauce and cook for 15-20 minutes. For bigger meatballs, make sure to cook in the sauce for a bit more time. Serve over pasta.
On the unassuming corner of 114th Street and Pleasant Ave in East Harlem in New York lies Rao's, the most exclusive restaurant in America. They serve the best meatballs in the world. Makes 6-8 servings