There’s no denying that Giada De Laurentiis knows pasta.
The Italian-American chef spent over 20 years teaching us her favorite recipes on the Food Network. Now she’s focused on her grocery startup Giadzy, which includes authentic products from Italy — including her own pasta line.
Giadzy also features some of De Laurentiis’ recipes. I was immediately intrigued by her Bucatini All’Amatriciana, served with smoked mozzarella meatballs.
“Amatriciana is one of the main famous pasta dishes of Rome, and eating it always brings me back to my childhood,” De Laurentiis writes on Giazdy’s website. “The meatballs are an added spin… stuffed with smoked mozzarella cheese, they’re a real crowd-pleaser.”
My family has always loved spaghetti and meatballs. So on a recent visit, I decided to whip this up for dinner.
De Laurentiis’ Bucatini All’Amatriciana features pancetta, crushed tomatoes, and pecorino Romano cheese.
To make De Laurentiis’ pasta for six, you’ll need:
- 1 pound of bucatini pasta (I tried the Giazdy brand, but you can make this with any bucatini)
- 1 14-ounce can of tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 6 ounces of pancetta, diced
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup of pecorino Romano cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
You’ll also need ground beef, Italian-style breadcrumbs, and mozzarella for the meatballs.
De Laurentiis’ meatballs include:
- 8 ounces of ground beef
- 8 ounces of ground veal
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 ounces of smoked mozzarella cheese (cut into 16 cubes, ½-inch each)
- 2 tablespoons of ketchup
- 1 small onion, grated
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup of Parmesan cheese (plus ¼ cup)
- ½ cup of chopped fresh parsley (plus ¼ cup)
- ⅓ cup of Italian-style breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt (plus more for seasoning)
- ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper (plus more for seasoning)
Two things to note for the meatballs: I couldn’t find ground veal at my local supermarket, so I bought one pound of ground beef instead.
I also couldn’t find smoked mozzarella cheese to stuff inside the meatballs. However, I was able to find smoked Gouda and fresh mozzarella, so I decided to experiment and try both with this recipe.
Before I started making the meatballs, I needed to get my prep out of the way.
I chopped and grated my onions, minced my garlic, and chopped my parsley.
I also got my cheese ready…
Per De Laurentiis’ instructions, I diced my cheeses into cubes that measured about ½-inch each.
… as well as my oven.
De Laurentiis recommends positioning your oven rack in the bottom third of the oven before you begin making your meatballs. The oven should then be preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Then I added my ground beef to a bowl, making sure to season it with salt and pepper.
I also added the breadcrumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, and ½ cup of parsley.
I topped off my meatball mixture with some Parmesan cheese.
I added ⅔ cup of Parmesan to the bowl.
I mixed all the ingredients together, making 14 meatballs total.
De Laurentiis’ recipe yields 16 meatballs measuring 1 ½ inches in diameter. My meatballs would have been a bit too small if I had made 16, so I made 14 instead.
I placed a cube of cheese in the center of every meatball.
I used my finger to make an indentation in each meatball, where I tucked in a piece of cheese. I then reshaped the ball so the cheese was completely covered and firmly in the center.
Since I was using two different cheeses, I made half of the meatballs with smoked Gouda and the other half with mozzarella.
I placed my meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and threw them into the oven.
De Laurentiis says the meatballs should bake for 15 minutes until fully cooked through, but it took an extra seven minutes for my meatballs to finish.
Every oven is different, so just keep an eye on them!
While my meatballs were baking, I got started on the pasta sauce.
Amatriciana is traditionally made with guanciale, but De Laurentiis said she uses pancetta instead “because it’s much easier to find in grocery stores!”
After drizzling some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, I added the pancetta and let it cook for six minutes, stirring constantly.
You’ll know it’s ready when the pancetta turns golden brown.
I used a slotted spoon to remove the pancetta, then added the onions.
I let the onions cook for five minutes.
Next, I added the garlic and red pepper flakes.
I let everything cook together for about 30 seconds, until the garlic became fragrant.
I added the crushed tomatoes and threw the pancetta back into the pan.
I seasoned everything with half a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.
Then I let my sauce simmer uncovered over medium-low heat.
De Laurentiis says you should let the sauce simmer until it thickens, which will take around 15 minutes.
While my sauce simmered, I started cooking the pasta.
I brought a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, then threw in the bucatini.
De Laurentiis says the noodles should be cooked until they’re tender but still firm to the bite, which takes about eight to 10 minutes depending on your stove.
After my sauce had finished simmering, I added the cheese.
I stirred in the Parmesan cheese and added another pinch of salt and black pepper. Then I took my sauce off the heat.
Once my pasta was ready, I drained the noodles and added them to the sauce.
I gave everything a good mix so my noodles were fully coated. Then I transferred the pasta to a serving bowl and added the meatballs, as well as my remaining parsley and pecorino Romano cheese.
Dinner was served! And De Laurentiis’ stuffed meatballs easily stole the show.
It’s been a very long time since my parents were impressed with a meatball recipe, but they were huge fans of De Laurentiis’ version.
The meatballs were juicy, moist, and tender — the perfect texture — and packed with tons of flavor. Both cheeses worked really well as a stuffing, and everyone in the family had a different favorite. I’d love to make these again with smoked mozzarella, but you could try this with so many different cheeses.
I thought De Laurentiis’ bucatini noodles were well-made and had a lovely taste, but I wish the sauce had more oomph. I had thrown in two extra ounces of pancetta, which we realized made the sauce just a tad too salty. Next time, I’d also make the sauce thicker and add some red wine or cream to give it more flavor. Bucatini is the perfect vehicle to carry a thick red sauce, and I just wanted more from the All’Amatriciana.
But De Laurentiis’ meatballs truly blew my family away. I know we’re going to be making them over and over again.
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