Italian Meatball Stew with Potatoes and Peas

Large skillet with wooden spoon stirring meatball stew with potatoes and peas.

Italian Meatball Stew with Potatoes and Peas

This Italian meatball stew with potoates and peas is a hearty, satisfying meal that is comforting any time of year! Enjoy on it's own along with fresh crusty Italian bread but it's also delicious with pasta or rice.

Course Main dish,

Cuisine Sicilian-Italian

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 50

Servings servings

Calories 888kcal

Author Nadia Fazio

Ingredients

For the meatballs

454 grams ground beef (1 lb)
1½ cups breadcrumbs from day old bread, crusts removed
½ cup milk
½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated or Parmigiano cheese
2 tbsp. parsley freshly chopped
1 small garlic clove finely minced
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

For the stew

1 small onion diced
3 tbsp. olive oil plus extra for drizzling on top
1 clove garlic finely minced
1½ cups tomato passata tomato purée
2 cups water
4 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
1½ cups frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
freshly chopped parsley to garnish optional

Instructions

Prepare the meatballs

Place the breadcrumbs from day old bread in a bowl, pour milk over them and stir to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Place the ground beef; grated Pecorino; finely minced garlic clove; chopped parsley; egg and salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Gently squeeze most of the milk from the breadcrumbs and add to the bowl with the ground meat. Use your hands to combine all ingredients well.
Shape into round meatballs about the size of a ping pong ball and set aside on a large plate or tray. I used a 1 tbsp. cookie scoop to make about 25 meatballs.

Prepare the stew

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan or skillet. Brown meatballs in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
Cook about 2 minutes per side until browned and transfer to a clean plate. They do not need to be fully cooked as they will continue to cook in the sauce.
Alternately, brown the meatballs in a 400 degrees F preheated oven for about 10 minutes.
Remove the meatballs from the pan and spoon out all but 2-3 tbsp. of the oil. Add the diced onion to the pan and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes before adding the minced garlic. Cook for a minute longer.
Pour the tomato passata and water in the pan. Bring to a simmer and nestle the meatballs in the sauce.
Add the cubed potatoes and bring the sauce to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook covered for one hour, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork tender.
Be sure to keep the potatoes submerged in the sauce. If necessary add some boiling water to keep them submerged. Adding cold water will stop the cooking process. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
In the last fifteen minutes of cooking, uncover and stir in the frozen peas (they do not require defrosting). Cover and continue cooking.
If you prefer your peas mushier, add to the sauce at the same time as the potatoes.
When the stew is ready drizzle a little extra olive oil over the top and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley, if desired. Serve hot.

Notes

Substitutions and Variations:

-Substitute ground meat of your choice in place of ground beef including pork; veal; chicken or turkey or even a combination of two varieties.
-If you'd like to add extra veggies to this dish, sauté a diced green or red pepper and/or diced carrots along with the onion.

Can this stew be frozen?

-Meatball stew can be frozen. Let it cool completely and transfer to freezer safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months.
-Let defrost overnight in the refrigerator then transfer to a sauce pan to heat it.

How long do leftovers keep for?

Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact ingredients used and portion size.

Nutrition