Spaghetti & Meatballs
The original. The classic.
Silver and gold. Peanut butter and jelly. Spaghetti and Meatballs. Without a doubt one of the icons of Italian American cooking, spaghetti and meatballs combines the iconic red sauce with perfectly browned meatballs to create a delicious Sunday dinner.
While the red sauce has been covered, this recipe will focus on how to make a lovely meatball that will then take a bath in the tomato sauce throughout the day. As you literally do nothing further, this amazing dish comes together.
What you’ll need
Makes 30-36 meatballs, recipe can be scaled down as needed
1 lb ground chuck beef
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground veal
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, whisked
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1 tbsp each: Tomato Sauce Spice, Italian Spice Mix
Lets Do This
Combine the meats in a large mixing bowl, mixing together lightly
Mix breadcrumbs with milk in a bowl until they form into a coarse paste
Add remaining ingredients, including bread mixture to the bowl and incorporate with the meat
Using 2- 2.5 ounces at a time, gently roll meatballs out in your hand until a round ball forms
Repeat and place on a tray until all meatballs are formed
Heat a flavorless oil- like sunflower or peanut- over medium high heat in a wide pan
Add meatballs, careful not to crowd the pan and cook, rotating frequently to maintain shape until browned on all sides. Repeat for all meatballs, placing browned meatballs on paper towels to drain
Lower meatballs into tomato heated tomato sauce and simmer on low heat 1.5-3 hours
Serving
When you are ready to enjoy this classic, don’t forget how to finish a red sauce!
As we are using rather large pieces of meat, it is worth only adding the meatballs upon completion as outlined below
Heat tomato sauce, without meatballs, over medium heat
When pasta is al dente, reserve some pasta water and add pasta to the tomato sauce
Add a few tablespoons of pasta water and increase heat to high, stirring non stop
For a silkier sauce, now would be a good time to add a fat- olive oil or butter, still stirring
After roughly 1 minute, remove pasta from heat and plate
Add meatballs to the pasta dishes, and top with additional heated sauce
Top with grated Parmesan, chopped parsley, and serve immediately
Ready to cook? Get the spices you need
