Lemony Bacon Orecchiette with Veal Meatballs
lemony bacon orecchiette pasta served with juicy veal meatballs
serves: 4
Ingredients
Veal Meatballs
- 2 oz sourdough bread
- ½ cup beef stock
- 6 oz raw bacon, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ½ lb diced onions (about 1 small onion)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs ground veal
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt, as needed
- olive oil, as needed
Orecchiette
- 1 ½ lbs orecchiette pasta
- olive oil, as needed
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 bunches of kale, cleaned and roughly chopped
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 4 tbsp butter
- freshly cracked black pepper, as needed
- 1 small chunk of parmesan cheese, for grating
Instructions
1. Add the bread to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer the breadcrumbs to a bowl and cover with the beef stock. Let soak for about 25 minutes.
2. Add the bacon to a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Let render until crispy, stirring often. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve for later.
3. Over medium heat, add the fennel seeds to the hot bacon fat. Let toast for 15 seconds until aromatic and then add the onions. Sauté the onions for about 12 minutes until tender and caramelized over low heat. Stir in the garlic and let cook for a minute or so. Turn off the heat and let cool.
4. Add the ground veal to a large mixing bowl with the parmesan cheese. Season the meat a generous pinch of salt. Add in the soaked bread and the onion mixture. Mix well.
5. Form the meat into 2-ounce balls, using your hands to pack them tightly.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F. Add a little bit of olive oil to the skillet that the bacon and onions cooked in. Heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, work in batches to sear the meatballs on all sides.
7. Transfer the meatballs to a foil-lined sheet pan. Once all of the meatballs are done searing, transfer them to the oven to finish cooking for about 8-10 minutes, or until done.
Orecchiette
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the orecchiette pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than the package’s instructions. Right before draining the pasta, ladle out about 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in the same skillet that you cooked the meatballs in, add a little bit more olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add half of the kale and stir until wilted. Add the rest of the kale. Continue to cook the kale until it’s all tender. Add the cup of reserved pasta water. Let simmer until slightly reduced.
4. Stir in the pasta and continue to cook until the liquid begins to coat the pasta and create a sauce. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Cook for a minute or so.
5. Stir in the butter and let melt. Crack fresh black pepper into the pasta, and grate lots of parmesan cheese right over top.
6. Stir in the bacon last. Taste the pasta and add more salt or lemon juice if needed.
7. Serve the orecchiette with the meatballs and more grated parmesan cheese on top.