Directions: |
Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, onion, parmesan cheese, raisins, pinenuts, basil, salt and pepper. Add sausage and pork; mix well. Shape into 24 meatballs. Place on a baking pan (I used a broiler pan so fat would drip away from meat). Bake 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Drain on paper towels.
Grease a 10 inch springform pan. Line bottom with parchment paper or foil. Grease the paper and set pan aside. For pasta crust, in a small bowl, combine 2 eggs and parmesan cheese –set aside. Cook pasta in boiling water. Drain and add to egg mixture. Toss well to coat. Press pasta mixture onto bottom of pan and build upsides slightly. Set aside.
In a large skillet cook onions in covered pan in butter over medium low heat for 15 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. Stir occasionally. Uncover and increase heat to medium and cook 5 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together one egg, ricotta cheese, snipped basil and pepper. Spread ricotta cheese mixture over pasta crust. Top with caramelized onions. Place springform pan on a large baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Spoon ¾ cup of sauce and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese on top.
Toss the meatballs with ¾ cup of sauce and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese. Arrange meatballs and sauce over layers in the pan, forming a mound. Top with ½ cup of the remaining sauce (reserve remaining sauce and cheese). Tent springform pan with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes more until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of mozzarella cheese. Let stand, uncovered on a wire rack for 15 minutes before cutting into wedges. Garnish with small basil leaves and shaved parmesan cheese before serving. Heat and pass remaining sauce. |
This recipe for Magnifico Meatball Pie is from