Spaghetti and meatballs is among the most popular Italian pasta dishes! Join Eric from Simply Elegant Home Cooking as he demonstrates his unique version of this classic dish! Like any Italian recipe, the key here is to use the most authentic and highest quality ingredients you can find. This dish is excellent served with a salad and glass of red wine!
Meatball Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
2-3 slices day old white Italian bread
1/8 cup milk
1/2 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 handful Italian flat leaf parsley
Extra virgin olive oil for frying
Sauce Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon fresh thyme
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 - 1 cup Italian red wine (such as chianti)
1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 pound dried spaghetti
10-15 fresh basil leaves
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions:
-Use a food processor to break up the bread into crumbs. Pour in 1/8 cup of milk, or however much is needed to lightly soak the breadcrumbs. It is important not to use too much milk as you do not want them sitting in a pool of liquid.
-Finely mince half the yellow onion. Heat a skillet or pot on medium low heat, add a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and sauté the onion for about 10 minutes or until lightly caramelized. Add a small amount of salt and pepper to taste in the early stages of cooking and add in the minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in the final minute. Once the onions and garlic are cooked, remove them from the heat so they cool a bit.
-To the ground meat, add in the soaked breadcrumbs, the lightly beaten egg, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, sautéed onion and garlic mixture, flat leaf parsley, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, along with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Use your hands to gentle mix together, but be sure not to over mix as this will cause tough meatballs!
-Wet your hands with water and form the meatballs into shape. Eric prefers to measure out portions of 60g each of the meatball mixture, but if you don't have a scale then aim for about a golf ball size.
-Preheat a large pot on medium-high heat and add plenty of olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add in half of the meatballs so as to avoid over crowding the pan. The meatballs will take about 2-3 minutes on each side. Do not attempt to cook the meatballs all the way as they will continue cooking in the sauce. Repeat for the other half of the meatballs.
--If using the same pan for the sauce, drain out any excess grease or add plenty of olive oil to a clean pan. On medium heat, cook the other half of the onion, with a bit of salt and pepper. After 6-7 minutes, add in the tomato paste, followed by the fresh thyme, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
-Deglaze with the red wine, and turn up the heat to medium high. Cook for several minutes or until the wine has reduced in volume, then add in the San Marzano tomatoes, the dried oregano, and more of the salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer.
-Once sauce is simmering, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the meatballs. At this point you can turn on the water for the pasta, but continue to gently stir the meatballs every few minutes so that they cook evenly.
Once pasta water is at a rapid boil, add plenty of salt and stir. Add in the pasta and cook until al dente.
-Once pasta is cooked, remove the meatballs from the sauce and set aside. Drain but don't rinse the pasta and add it to the sauce. Turn up the heat to medium, and allow the sauce to cook with the pasta for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Turn off the heat and add in the fresh basil, followed by the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve and enjoy!