Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Rigatoni Pasta

Italian herb flavoured meatballs stuffed with mozzarella baked in a quick and simple Tuscan Herb marinara sauce. A perfect Italian match with a buttery garlic rigatoni pasta and then garnished with a chiffonade of basil and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Made with:

What You'll Need

Amount	Ingredients
1 lb	Lean Ground Beef
1	Large Egg
1 Tbsp	Cold Water
1/8 cup	Custom Culinary® Tuscan Herb Seasoning
1/2 cup	Custom Culinary® Italian Style Breadcrumbs
160 g	Mozzarella, Cubed into 10g Pieces (Approx. 1/2" Each)
1 jar (650ml)	Plain Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp	Custom Culinary® Tuscan Herb Seasoning
1 cup	Rigatoni Pasta
1 Tbsp	Salt
1/8 cup	Custom Culinary® Buttery Garlic Flavour Glaze
	GARNISH
1/8 cup	Basil, Chiffonade & 1/4 cup Shaved Parmesan

Preparation

Meatballs

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). In a mixing bowl add ground beef, egg, Custom Culinary® Tuscan Herb Seasoning, Custom Culinary® Italian Style Breadcrumbs and mix well until blended. Add the cold water to ground beef mixture and continue mixing.
Take approximately 1/4 cup of beef and gently flatten it until it covers your entire palm and is about 1/8” thick. Place a cube of mozzarella in the center and gently fold the sides of the meat over towards the center. With your hands, gently roll each meatball, making sure there are no holes.
Place meatballs onto a baking tray, add the Tuscan marinara sauce and cook in the oven for approximately 25 minutes (or until internal temperatures reaches 165°F (74°C).

Tuscan Marinara Sauce

Add the Tuscan herb seasoning and mix well.

Rigatoni Pasta

Fill sauce pot with water and salt; bring to a boil. Add the rigatoni pasta and cook until al dente. Strain and coat with Custom Culinary® Buttery Garlic Flavour Glaze.

Assembly

Place the hot rigatoni pasta onto the warm plate. Add the meatballs over the pasta, topping the meatballs off with more Tuscan marinara sauce. Sprinkle chiffonade of basil over the meatballs. Shave Parmesan over the basil and meatballs.

Chef Tips

Try these meatballs on a sandwich and toast the bread with the Custom Culinary^® Buttery Garlic Flavour Glaze.
Italian Style Breadcrumbs are great as a binder for meat products like meatballs and meatloaf, but they also can offer a great crispy coating for baked and fried foods.
Custom Culinary^® Buttery Garlic Flavour Glaze is used on the rigatoni pasta, not only to add flavour, but to also prevent the pasta from sticking to each other.