Look! Tomatoes from Plummy!

Recently I started thinking about the veal meatballs my friend David guest blogged about when he was describing his trip visiting family and friends in Italy. So I decided to start with his sister-in-law's basic meatball recipe, but then added my own twist to it. I was also inspired by Jamie Oliver's meatballs with pine nuts, so I went and got some nuts. I ended up using lamb because it was the first time I saw ground lamb at my Safeway and decided it'll give my meatballs a heavier, heartier taste.

I also was inspired by Oliver's tomato sauce, so I decided to make a basic tomato sauce to go with my meatballs. So of course I had to try using San Marzano plum tomatoes, which were a point of distinction during "The Next Food Network Star" when contestant Paul during an Iron Chef-like challenge was questioned where a can of tomatoes came from, and he promptly said the plum tomatoes came from the country "Plummy."

Plummy or not, this lamb meatball and tomato sauce combination was so yummy. The meatball really had a nice kick to it because of the fresh mint. And what can be more comforting than a basic tomato sauce? All I needed was some Italian grandmother in the kitchen and an opera singer in my dining room and I would have been in meatball heaven. :)