Not Your Nonna’s Meatballs!
Photography by Deanna Sandoval
Recipe by Laura Oversmith
This recipe was inspired by combining my love of Italian cooking with an unconventional meat that truly reinvents Nonna’s meatballs. It honors my traditional family meatballs and pasta while supporting our local fishing community with ground opah from TunaVille Market and Grocery. I used herbs and lemons from my garden to flavor the meatballs, and the sauce I made was simple, with simmered red pomodoro datterino and yellow datterino tomatoes (I like the Giadzy brand and have also used the Di Napoli brand), smashed garlic cloves, a grating of nutmeg, dried oregano, sea salt, lemon zest, and pepper. If you like it hot, add some Calabrian chile flakes.
This recipe will work well with any reader’s Nonna’s sauce and favorite pasta shape. The meatballs do not taste like fish at all—instead, they’re a celebration of thinking outside a traditional recipe to create a version that goes from boat to table!
Cook the Cover recipes are edited for clarity and published to reflect the original submissions.
This recipe as presented was selected and prepared by Chef Ashley McBrady (MAKE CAFE) with additional styling by Deanna Sandoval, Logan Mitchell, and Katie Stokes.
read more about the 2026 Cook the Cover recipe selections »
The Many Stories Behind a Dish
see how chefs adapt this recipe and others »
Tips from the 2026 Cook the Cover Test Kitchen
FROM THE PAGES
This recipe originally appeared as part of the 2026 Cook the Cover call for reader recipes featured in issue 84.
Editorial partners
Food for Cook the Cover proudly sponsored by Jimbo’s.
A special thank you to MIHO creative event studio for generously hosting the Cook the Cover test kitchen.
Opah gifted by TunaVille Market and Grocery.
Ingredients
SERVES 6–8
MEATBALLS
- 1 pound opah ground abductor
- 1⁄3 cup panko
- 1⁄2 shallot, minced
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Italian parsley to taste
- 3 tablespoons grated Italian cheeses (like Quattro Formaggi blend from Trader Joe’s—the beauty of this is you can just use Parmesan or any mix of your favorite Italian cheeses)
- Zest of 1 medium lemon
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
SAUCE
- 48 ounces tomatoes, canned or fresh*
- Garlic cloves, smashed, to taste
- Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- Dried oregano to taste
- Lemon zest to taste
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Calabrian chile flakes to taste, optional
- Cooked pasta (your choice)
- Fresh basil and parsley, for serving
- Parmesan Reggiano, for serving
Make Not Your Nonna's Meatballs!
- *See note in the recipe description and chef’s approach in Tips From the 2026 Cook the Cover Test Kitchen Mix all the meatball ingredients together, then form the meatballs to a size of your liking, big or small. Sauté in olive oil until brown on all sides. Remove and set aside until ready to add to the sauce.
- For the sauce, simmer tomatoes with garlic, nutmeg, oregano, lemon zest, sea salt, and pepper for about 15 to 20 minutes. If you like it spicy, add some Calabrian chile.
- Serve on your favorite pasta shape and garnish with basil and parsley. Finish with big curls of Parmesan Reggiano cheese ... Mangia!!
