49ers Super Bowl Meatballs and Roasted Peppers
What do you expect from a guy in San Francisco’s Italian North Beach who hopes the Lombardi Trophy comes home with the 49ers?
Here’s an Italian-American appetizer for your Super Bowl buffet that sports the Niner’s red and gold.
The meatballs are easy to make and will be ready in way less than an hour.
If you don’t want to make them on Sunday, make the meatballs in advance and heat them in the oven when you’re ready to serve. Roast peppers yourself or just buy a jar at the supermarket.
The zesty little meatballs topped with sweet roasted peppers will be a winner no matter the outcome of the game.
Buon appetito!
Go Niners!
49ers Meatballs and Roasted Peppers
Recipe Type: Appetiser
Cuisine: Italian
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
These meatballs are delicious and easy to make. For Superbowl Sunday they sport the San Francisco 49er colors.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup cubed, crustless hardy (or stale) Italian bread
- 2 cups water or milk
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino or parmigiano
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 jar of marinated red and yellow roasted peppers
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Soak the bread in the milk or water and set aside.
- Lightly brush a rimmed baking sheet with some of the oil.
- Put the ground beef in a large bowl.
- Squeeze out the liquid from the bread and add the bread to the bowl along with the other ingredients, except the olive oil.
- Mix the ingredients well. (I use my hands but you can use a utensil instead.)
- Put a heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in your hands and roll it into a small meatball about 3-inches in diameter.
- Put the meatballs on the baking sheet leaving some room between them so they brown evenly.
- Liberally brush olive oil over the meatballs.
- Bake the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through.
- While the meatballs are in the oven, cut the red and yellow roasted peppers into 1X2 inch strips. (You want 24 red and 24 yellow pepper strips.)
- Put the pepper strips in a bowl and mix with the vinegar.
- When the meatballs are cool enough to handle put a strip of red and yellow roasted peppers on top of each meatball and skewer with a toothpick.
- Serve warm. (You can keep the meatballs warm in a 200 degree oven loosely covered with foil.)
- Makes about 24 small meatballs.