Ooni-Baked Meatballs with Fresh Flatbread
The powerful Ooni oven cooks up more than fantastic pizzas. Here we prepare a simple flatbread dough from scratch and bake it in the Ooni until lightly charred, which takes just 1 minute. Beef and pork meatballs are first seared in a cast-iron skillet, then simmered in tomato sauce and finished with melty mozzarella cheese—everything cooks in a flash in the super-hot Ooni. The bread is perfect for soaking up all that tomatoey, cheesy goodness. Serve these tender meatballs and flatbread as part of a mezze spread with an assortment of other Mediterranean small plates and invite your guests to help themselves. It’s a fun way to entertain.
Ingredients
For the flatbread:
- 1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) lukewarm water (98° to 105°F/37° to 40°C)
- 1 package (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 3/4 cup (3 oz./85 g) bread flour
- 2 cups (8 1/2 oz./240 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp. fleur de sel or kosher salt
- 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
For the meatballs:
- 1 cup (2 oz./60 g) fresh bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) plus 2 Tbs. milk
- 12 oz. (375 g) ground beef
- 12 oz. (375 g) ground pork
- 3 oz. (90 g) prosciutto, finely chopped
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup (1 oz./30 g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup (1/3 oz./10 g) finely chopped fresh basil
- 2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh oregano
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 Tbs. olive oil
- 24 oz. (750 g) store-bought or homemade tomato sauce
- 4 oz. (125 g) mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
Directions
To prepare the flatbread, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together the lukewarm water, yeast, sugar and bread flour on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Let stand at room temperature until frothy, about 10 minutes.
Fit the mixer with the dough hook and add the all-purpose flour, fleur de sel and 2 Tbs. of the olive oil to the bowl. Beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes; the dough will be sticky.
Coat the inside of a large bowl with the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
To shape the flatbread, punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 6 equal portions and shape each into a tight ball. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Preheat an Ooni pizza oven according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Let the pizza stone heat to 850°F (454°C).
Working with one dough ball at a time, stretch the dough out into an oval-shaped flatbread and place on a well-floured pizza peel. Lightly drizzle the top with olive oil. Using the pizza peel, transfer the flatbread to the preheated pizza stone. Bake until the bread is cooked through and nicely charred, about 1 minute. Transfer the bread to a platter. Repeat to shape and cook the remaining dough balls.
To prepare the meatballs, in a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk and let stand for 10 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, pork, prosciutto, egg, Parmesan, 3 Tbs. of the basil, the parsley, oregano, garlic, 1 tsp. kosher salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add the soaked bread crumbs and mix gently until combined. Form the meat mixture into 2-inch (5-cm) balls, then place on the prepared baking sheet.
Place an Ooni cast-iron skillet or a regular 10-inch (25-cm) cast-iron skillet in the Ooni oven and reduce the oven temperature to 650°F (343°C).
Remove the skillet from the oven and add 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Return to the oven and heat for 30 seconds. Remove from the oven and add half of the meatballs to the skillet. Return to the oven and cook, shaking the skillet halfway through to roll the meatballs around, until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove from the oven and transfer the meatballs to a plate. Add the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil to the skillet, return to the oven and heat for 30 seconds. Brown the remaining meatballs as directed above. Transfer the meatballs to the plate.
Pour the tomato sauce into the skillet, transfer to the oven and cook just until the sauce is heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and add the meatballs to the sauce, nestling them close together so they are submerged in the sauce. Return to the oven and cook until the meatballs are cooked through, about 3 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 850°F (454°C). Arrange the mozzarella on the meatballs, return to the oven and cook until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish with the remaining 1 Tbs. basil and serve immediately with the flatbread. Serves 6.
Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen