For Rich And Buttery Meatballs, Add This Italian Nonna-Approved Ingredient

A lot of the secrets to great meatballs are about, well, the meat. Home cooks will stake their reputations on things like proprietary beef and pork ratios. Swapping in something like chorizo can also help make a particularly tasty meatball. But there are about a billion more ways to improve a meatball's flavor and texture that have nothing to do with the protein. Pine nuts zhuzh up both when you marry these buttery little seeds with the meat. This isn't just some modern kitchen hack; it's a trick that Italian nonnas have been using for years.

What we call pine nuts are actually the delicious seeds of pine trees. Pine nuts are about the size of a Christmas tree light and they feel somewhat polished to the touch. That satiny exterior is a little hint about the relatively high fat content that gives them a buttery quality. And that buttery quality is, of course, a boon for more tender, texturally dynamic meatballs. This is, in fact, one of the best ways to use pine nuts for more than just pesto, but in a fashion that still comports with pasta night. You can also simply toss a few spoonfuls of these nutty, sweetish morsels straight from the jar and into your ground meat base before balling, or give them their own brief treatment to help them grow to their full potential.

You can roll pine nuts into virtually any meatball recipe. The one exception might be if your preferred preparation is already exceedingly fatty or buttery. The nuts would still introduce some novel consistency, but their flavor notes would probably end up too buried to make any kind of meaningful impact. But most standard beef, pork, and veal combos will take to the pine nuts terrifically. Pine nuts can even make leaner meats like ground turkey seem a bit richer. And toasting them will further enhance their own flavor, while also making them a bit snappier, in any case.

A couple of tablespoons of pine nuts per pound of meat is plenty. You can stir them around a bare skillet set to medium-low heat to toast. Keep them moving, but you stand still; pine nuts will get nice and roasty in just a couple of minutes before burning in the blink of an eye. After letting them cool, you can break them up a bit with a rolling pin or kitchen mallet for more even distribution throughout the meatballs. Fold the pine nuts in before you really start working the meat, but avoid overmixing. Form the mixture into balls, and finish cooking how you normally would. Even under a cloak of tomato sauce or gravy, you'll notice a unique taste and texture that only pine nuts can bring.