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There are so many reasons to admire Ina Garten. She showers us with cooking and entertaining advice, encourages us to eat cake for breakfast, and gives us permission to pass off store-bought desserts as homemade.
Perhaps best of all, she’s taught us that food is meant to be shared—and it doesn’t have to be fancy. An old clip of the Barefoot Contessa making a big batch of saucy meatballs for a dinner party recently popped up on TikTok. “What could possibly be more earthy to serve a fancy crowd than spaghetti and meatballs?” Garten asks. “I bet they’ll be surprised.”
She takes viewers through her meatball-making process, and one of the ingredients made us take note.
Ina’s Borrowed Secret for Moist Meatballs
Anyone who has ever watched Garten cook knows that she wouldn’t just throw together ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, and some seasonings to make meatballs. It’s almost a given that she’s going to give the comfort food a glow-up. “Just because it’s spaghetti and meatballs doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be really fabulous,” she says.
The video shows Garten using some of the usual suspects, but she also employs both dry and fresh breadcrumbs, a combination of ground meats (beef, veal, and pork), fresh parsley, Parmesan, and a little nutmeg.
She’s also adds something a bit unconventional: warm water. It’s a little secret she learned from Rao’s, a classic New York Italian restaurant and producer of the jarred pasta sauce our readers say tastes most like homemade. “It keeps the meatballs so moist, you wouldn’t believe it.” Garten explains.
Garten lightly packs the meatballs to keep them “fluffy,” then browns them in a mix of olive and vegetable oil. She drains some of the frying oil, but makes the sauce in the same pan to pick up the browned bits stuck in the bottom. (We think using a good jar of pasta sauce is perfectly acceptable in place of homemade sauce, and our vote is—you guessed it—Rao’s.)
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
The biggest challenge might be finding a bowl large enough to fit everything. In the video, Garten shows us how she transfers the pasta to the serving dish first, and then pours the meatballs and sauce on top. (Don’t forget a little fresh basil for a homemade touch.)
That’s where the video ends, and at this point, you can almost smell the dish through the screen. Your next move: head to the store to gather all the ingredients for this fabulous dish and some easy sides, like garlic bread and a green salad. You can even grab a store-bought dessert and pass it off as your own. We know Ina would approve—and if your guests close their eyes, they might think they’re dining at Rao’s.
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