Preheat the oven to 450°F and arrange a rack in the center of the oven.

To a medium skillet over medium low heat, add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, till soft and translucent. Then, add the garlic and cook till fragrant (about a minute). Remove from the heat.

Add the crustless bread slices to a large bowl, then pour the milk evenly over all of them. Squeeze the bread to ensure every part of the slices are evenly saturated. If you need a bit more milk, add a tablespoon at a time, squeezing the bread in between until completely saturated. Squeeze excess liquid out and set aside.

For the meatballs, combine all the “meatball” ingredients, and mix just until everything is evenly distributed, being careful not to overwork/overmix. Form into 3 equal-sized balls. To a large casserole dish, ladle a layer of sauce to coat the bottom, then place the meatballs inside so they’re not touching each other.

Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes at 450F, then remove from the oven, coat the outside of the meatballs in sauce and braise at 325F until desired doneness (30-40 minutes or so). When the meatballs are done, remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes.

While the meatballs are baking, bring a large pot of water to a boil, then liberally salt the water and cook the pasta till the al dente time on the package. Meanwhile, add the cheeses, butter and collagen to the marinara sauce over medium low heat and whisk until dissolved and creamy. You can also use an immersion blender for this and it works really well.

When the pasta is done, reserve 1-2 cups of salty, starchy pasta water and drain. Toss the pasta in the remaining sauce, adding pasta water to help the sauce cling to the pasta and to thin the sauce to your liking. Toss till well coated.

Serve the pasta with the meatballs nestled on top, then dollop a third of the ricotta onto each ball, top with basil and serve immediately!