Spaghetti and Meatballs

• Prep time: 20 minutes.
• Cook time: 40 minutes.
• Servings: 6.

Ingredients

For the sauce

• ½ chopped sweet yellow onion.
• 3 cloves chopped garlic.
• 1 cup finely chopped carrots.
• 1 cup chopped cremini brown mushrooms.
• 2 cans (28 oz.) Italian plum tomatoes.
• ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley.
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil.
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste.
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese blend.
• ¼ cup red wine (optional).

For the meatballs

• 1 lb. ground beef.
• ½ lb. fresh bulk Italian style pork sausage.
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped basil.
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley.
• ½ cup finely chopped cremini brown mushrooms.
• 2 large eggs.
• ¾ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs.
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese blend.
• Red wine (optional).

For the pasta

• 1 ½ lb. dry spaghetti.

Directions

Prepare the sauce

1. Heat olive oil in a 4 to 5 quart pot on medium-high heat.
2. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer or until fragrant.
4. Add the carrots and mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add the tomato paste, stir to blend, and cook for a minute longer.
6. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, and parsley.
7. Mash and stir the tomatoes with a potato masher until the sauce starts to thicken, about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
8. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently while preparing meatballs, stirring occasionally.

Form the meatballs

1. In a large bowl, mix by hand the beef, Italian sausage, basil, parsley, mushrooms, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, and 2 tablespoons of salt and pepper.
2. Do not overmix or the meatballs will be tough.
3. Use small melon baller (or teaspoon) to form 1-inch round meatballs.
4. Roll and compress into tight balls.

Cook the meatballs

1. In a separate wide, shallow pan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat.
2. Brown meatballs on all sides for about 2-3 minutes.
3. Depending on the pan size, you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Cook them in a single layer; do not crowd the pan by stacking them.
4. Do not overcook the meatballs; they will continue to cook in the sauce.
5. Towards the end of browning the meatballs, add a little bit of red wine to deglaze the pan.

Finish and simmer the sauce

1. Add the cheese and red wine to the sauce and stir it in. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to taste.
2. Add meatballs and gently stir. Simmer the sauce and meatballs for 30-45 minutes while cooking the spaghetti, stirring occasionally.

Cook the spaghetti

1. Fill a large pot with 4 quarts of water. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and bring it to a boil.
2. When the water is boiling, add the dry spaghetti to the pot.
3. Boil the spaghetti for 8-10 minutes, or to al dente.
4. Drain the spaghetti in a collander.
5. (Optional) Add ~1/3 cup of pasta water to sauce to help sauce stick to noodles.

Serve

1. Place a thin layer of sauce on a plate. Add pasta, sauce and meatballs.

Contribution

• ClosedGL - GitHub.

Recipe tags: italian pasta beef pork