Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Spaghetti and Meatballs (Bon Appetit magazine)

I searched high and low for the recipe on their website with NO luck. So here it is:

Sauce:
2 28 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice, drained, juice reserved, tomatoes finely chopped (or in my house, just use sauce as Hubby HATES chunky cooked tomatoes)
1 stick butter (unsalted)
2 medium  onions, peeled and halved through root end
1/2 tsp salt (more if needed)

Meatballs:
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless french bread (or whatever)
1/2 cup milk
8 oz ground beef (15% or less fat)
8 oz ground pork (using sausage removed from casing)
1 cup finely ground Parmesan cheese. They say specifically NOT grated
1/3 cup finely chopped italian parsley (ummm, dried ok?)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 lb spaghetti
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Combine tomatoes, butter, onions and salt in large, wide pot. Bring to simmer and reduce heat, simmer uncovered 45 minutes or so, stir occasionally. Remove onions and toss them. Use an immersion blender to process sauce briefly to break up large chunks of tomatoes (or if you live like my household, no issues as NO CHUNKY TOMATOES ALLOWED!).  They want the sauce smooth but not completely (?) Season with more salt & black pepper. Remove from heat.

Combine breadcrumbs and milk in bowl. Let soak 10 minutes (stir to be sure all are swimming!).  Place pork and beef in large bowl and break up into small chunks. Add 1 cup of cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

Whisk eggs to blend in small bowl, whisk in the garlic. Add to meat.

Using hands, squeeze the bread crumbs, reserve the milk. Add to meat mixture. Using hands, QUICKLY and GENTLY mix meat til just combined (do not overmix). Chill for about 15 minutes up to one hour (this is looking like a Sunday meal!)

Moisten hands with reserved milk and roll meat mix between palms, creating a golfball sized meatball, occasionally moistening hands with milk as needed. Place in single layer in sauce in pot. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer til cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.  This can be done 2 days ahead (cool slightly, chill uncovered til cold then cover, rewarm before serving).

Serve over hot pasta along with some nice crusty garlic bread!

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