It took hours of contemplating for CA to figure out what he wanted for dinner. We spend a lot of time in our house deciding what to eat and today was CA's choice because I didn't want to decide. He mentioned meatballs early on but then diverted to stuffed shells, then curry, then Mexican (which is mentioned practically every day around here until CA decides that he doesn't want to eat until he's sick which is somehow inevitable when he eats Mexican food) and then "maybe we should just go out". Eventually I said to him "we can have meatballs if you want" and he said "I guess that's OK." It wasn't an enthusiastic response but at least I was released to go to the grocery store instead of staring at him until he decided.
This recipe is from Saveur magazine and it is surprisingly simple. We've been subscribing to Saveur for years and I really love reading through the magazine and it's stories. It's recipes, however, are typically complicated and sometimes written in ways that confuse and frustrate me. This one, however is well written, doesn't contain anything super crazy and is quite delicious. A definite keeper.
The original recipe called for making enormous meatballs, but I'm a fan of smaller meatballs because that means I can eat more than one and meatballs should at least come in pairs. I ate three and I was stuffed!
The sauce is pretty simple too with whole canned tomatoes, garlic, a little sugar and dried spices that you probably already have in your pantry. That all gets simmered together and then the browned meatballs are added and simmered a while longer until they are cooked through. I used more tomatoes than the original recipe called for because I like a lot of sauce on my pasta. I also cut back a bit on the sugar, just enough to counteract the acidity in the tomatoes, but not enough that the sauce tastes sweet.
For the pasta, I opted to buy fresh pasta, but you can definitely use dried pasta. I would have made my own fresh pasta if CA had decided what he wanted for dinner before 3PM but he had to settle for store bought fresh pasta. He's got a rough life.
This is a really great, classic spaghetti and meatball recipe that is easy and relatively quick to execute. The meatballs are very moist from the mixture of meats and because they finish cooking in the sauce so they don't dry out. The sauce is a classic, flavorful marinara that tastes like you spent all day making it.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
adapted from Saveur
serves 8
Ingredients
1/4 cup Olive Oil
5 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 T Dried Parsley
1 T Dried Basil
2 35 oz. cans Whole Peeled Tomatoes, crushed
1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp Salt, divided
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp Pepper, divided
3 T Sugar
10 oz. Ground Pork
5 oz. Ground Beef
5 oz. Ground Veal
1/3 cup Shredded Provolone
1/3 cup Ricotta
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan + extra for serving
3/4 cup Breadcrumbs
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 lb. Spaghetti, cooked
Instructions
Heat 2 T oil and 3 cloves chopped garlic in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium heat; cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, parsley, basil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper; cook for 15 minutes. Add sugar; cook until reduced and thick, about 15 minutes.
Combine the remaining 2 cloves of garlic, pork, beef, veal, provolone, ricotta, parmesan, breadcrumbs, eggs, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in a bowl. Mix it with your hands until it just comes together (overworking the meatballs will make them tough). Form into 16 meatballs, about 3 oz. each.
Heat remaining 2 T of oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add meatballs. Cook, turning, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to sauce; cook until cooked through, about 30 minutes.
Serve meatballs and sauce over spaghetti; sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Julie
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