Braised Meatballs with Le Grand Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

So, yesterday we talked about Le Grand’s line of gourmet raw sauces (you can see all my thoughts here).  Now, it’s time to cook with some of these delicious sauces.

So today, we’re going to make:

Meatballs Braised in Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

I actually got this idea from the Le Grand website.  On the site, Le Grand had a recipe for burgers made with sun-dried tomato pesto, which looked really good.  I think the combination of hamburger and sun-dried tomato pesto sounds absolutely fantastic in any form, so I came up with this meatball recipe.  Instead of putting the pesto in the meatballs, though, I put it in the sauce and then infuse the meatballs with the sun-dried tomato pesto flavor by braising them.

You will need:

  • 1 pound ground hamburger
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon salt and black pepper
  • 1/2 cup Le Grand sun-dried tomato pesto
  • 1 12.5 oz can tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix the hamburger, bread crumbs, egg, salt, and pepper until the ingredients are well incorporated.  Roll the meat mixture into 1 inch balls and put them into a baking dish.

In a second bowl, mix the Le Grand sun-dried tomato pesto and tomato sauce.  Pour into the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with pasta and enjoy!

The image came from the Le Grand website.

4 Comments

  1. That’s a good idea Chris!
    Ground meat, especially lean, tends to get dry as it cooks. Having the meat in a sauce will prevent that. I did not mention in my blog that the recipe was just a tadd on the dry side.
    I have a few remorses now…
    May I suggest finely chopped parsley and fresly grated parmesan just before serving?
    Just for the beauty…
    I will do your recipe, Merci chef!

  2. Re: the dry meat. We don’t eat a lot of ground meat in our house, so when we do, we go with the 80% and enjoy the fat. But I know that’s not a long term option…have you thought about milk or more eggs? Something to give a healthy source of fat?

    I think the parsley and parm would be great additions. Good bursts of color!

    Thanks for your awesome sauces chef!

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