Veal’s sweet delicate flavor and leanness makes them a perfect choice for savory meatballs. The trick is to handle the meat as little as possible to retain the light, open texture and create a moist meatball. Drop them into a pot of marinara sauce (homemade is best, bottled is fine), and pile them onto a fresh wedge roll for a fabulous Sunday sandwich.
Heat the sauce in a large pot (see recipe below), cover and simmer until ready to cook the meatballs.
Combine the chicken stock and minced parsley in a bowl. Tear the bread into very small pieces and add to the stock and parsley, let it stand until the bread absorbs most of the liquid.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg, and add the oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the veal to the egg mixture and lightly work to incorporate all the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Remove the veal mixture from the fridge. Lightly squeeze the liquid from the bread and combine with the veal, discard remaining liquid.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet and pour the bread crumbs on to a plate. Wet your hands and roll the meatballs into 1–inch rounds and then in the bread crumbs. When the oil is shimmering hot (drop a few bread crumbs in the pan, if they sizzle and brown–up the oil is ready), fry the meatballs until nicely browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. An easy way to turn them is to use two–spoon method to coax them to roll over in the pan. When the meatballs are browned, remove them with a slotted spoon and plop them in the simmering sauce. Cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Right before serving, add the chopped parsley and basil leaves. Spoon over your favorite pasta.
To begin the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large skillet, cook and stir the onions, over medium heat, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook several minutes longer. Season with salt, oregano and red pepper flakes, if using. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir the sauce and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for at least 30 minutes.