Meatballs Napolitano

Ingredients for the meatballs:
2 slices stale white bread, crusts removed
1 cup milk
1 small bunch flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
9 ounces ground beef
9 ounces pork
2 eggs
2 ounces pecorino, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 buffalo mozzarella, drained and chopped into little pieces
unseasoned bread crumbs
extra virgin olive oil, for frying

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Ingredients for the sauce:
extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
3 (12-ounce) cans of peeled cherry tomatoes, or 36 ounces of fresh cherry tomatoes [Canned tomatoes are better for a sauce that needs cooking for a long time.]

Preparing the sauce:
Pour just enough oil into a saucepan to cover the surface. Add garlic and tomatoes, mashing them slightly. Boil the sauce for 5 minutes and simmer for another 3 minutes. Set aside.

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Preparing the meatballs:
Cover the bread with milk, and let soak.

Put meat into a large mixing bowl. Squeeze the milk out of the bread and add to meat. Chop the parsley and garlic together and add to the meat. Add the eggs and the pecorino, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix by hand and shape the meatballs, and push a small piece of mozzarella into the middle. Pat into shape. Roll the meatballs in bread crumbs.

Add olive oil to a frying pan and heat, When it's very hot, add the meatballs for 5 minutes, or until they have formed a crust. Don't crowd the pan. Turn over and when golden brown and crusty on both sides remove the meatballs from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce, cover and cook very slowly on low heat for 45 minutes, until the sauce is reduced by half.

Serves 6