This Michelin-starred chef's easy meatball recipe is perfect for cozy dinners

Rachel AskinasiApr 22, 2022, 03:12 IST

Mario Carbone (left) and his West Village restaurant (right).Astrid Stawiarz/Stringer/Getty Images and Gotham/Contributor/Getty Images

Mario Carbone, the chef and founder of Carbone, got his meatball recipe from his mom.
At his Michelin-starred restaurant, the chef uses an adapted version of the dish he grew up eating.

Mario Carbone, the founder of his namesake restaurant, shared his meatball recipe with Insider.

Carbone in NYC.Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

With a trio of ground meats and a simple allium combination, this recipe has a total of 11 ingredients.

The ingredient list is relatively simple.Rachel Askinasi/Insider

The first step is to sweat the chopped onion and garlic in a pan.

Onions and garlic when I first put them in the pan (left) and after they were done sweating (right).Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Next, it's time to mix everything together.

I mixed the three meats, alliums, milk, egg, breadcrumbs, and salt together with a spoon.Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Then it was time to get my hands dirty and form the balls.

I was impressed with how evenly-sized I got them to be.Rachel Askinasi/Insider

The chef's next step is to lightly fry the meatballs in a shallow pan of olive oil until they're golden brown on the outside.

It only took a few minutes to brown each meatball.Rachel Askinasi/Insider

Finally, it was time to finish them in the oven.

Carbone didn't say to cover the meatballs in sauce, so I didn't.Rachel Askinasi/Insider

They weren't quite done yet, so I stuck them back in for another 15 minutes, which did the trick.

The insides were still a bit mushy at 30 minutes (left), so I put them back in until they were more firm and fully cooked (right).Rachel Askinasi/Insider

I thought the meatballs had great texture but could have been a little more flavorful.

I first ate the meatballs straight out of the pan.Rachel Askinasi/Insider

This recipe is a great base for making it your own.

I added them to pasta with fresh basil and broccolini.Rachel Askinasi/Insider

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