Spaghetti and Meatballs

Buongiorno!! If you come from an Italian American family, odds are you have had your fair share of Sunday night dinners. The family gathering in the kitchen…laughing, having a good time, maybe having a few sips of wine and cooking!! A classic Sunday night dinner is of course, Spaghetti and Meatballs. Every family has their own recipe and that is one of the things I love about certain recipes. Ever family has their own and that is what makes them so special.

I like the outside of my meatballs to get a little browned, but I know that that’s just me. We always have a debate in my household because my family prefers them softer, usually soaking in the tomato sauce. I myself like the exterior a bit crunchier. So I usually end up making two batches so I keep everyone happy and satisfied, that’s just my nature. My secret ingredient in my meatballs is…..wait for it…..ricotta!!! It makes them so light, tender, moist and delicious!! I love my recipe for meatballs; they are as perfect as meatballs can get, in my humble opinion. I obviously have to serve my meatballs with spaghetti and my classic tomato sauce.

Sweet little story about these meatballs…when I made these the other night for my family, as they were frying, the smell really reminded me of what I remember my Nonna Nettie’s Meatballs smelling like. I thought maybe it was just wishful thinking…but then I made a little test meatball (which I always do and highly suggest!) and gave it to my mom to try. She said “wow, these taste like grandmas.” To have my mother say that my meatballs, which I still remember my grandma frying specially for me over the weekend, is the absolute best compliment I could ever get about my cooking.

So try this recipe and let me know how it compares to yours!!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Tomato Sauce

¼ extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. red pepper

2 large cans of San Marzano tomatoes

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

Prepare a medium size pot over medium heat. Add your olive oil and minced garlic. Allow the garlic to soften, but not brown. Add your salt, pepper and red pepper. Add your tomatoes and cook them down a little. Add a handful of the basil. Cook for 30 minutes covered on low heat, occasionally stirring.  You can start the meatballs now…

Spaghetti and Meatballs

1 pound of ground beef

1 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs

¼ cup parmigiana, grated

¼ ricotta

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large egg

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ cup olive oil

1 box of whole grain spaghetti

1 tbsp. salt, for the pasta water

Crumble the beef in a mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, parmigiana, ricotta, parsley, basil and garlic. Beat the egg with 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper in a small bowl. Pour this over the meat. Mix the ingredients with cleans hands just until blended. DO NOT OVER MIX!! If you over mix, you will get really hard, tough meatballs. We don’t want that!! Shape the meatballs in balls. You can make them as big or small as you like, but make them roughly the same size so they cook at the same speed. Heat your olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Put the meatballs in the skillet and fry. Turn them when they are golden brown, around 10 minutes. Cook them for around 20 minutes. As I said, I prefer my meatballs well done. 

Start salted boiling water in a large pot over high heat. Pour in half of the tomato sauce over the meatballs. Cook for an additional 30 minutes in the sauce as the water boils. You will want to cook the meatballs until there is no pink in the center.

Once the water is boiling, add the spaghetti and stir. Once it is al dente, strain the pasta and add to the remaining tomato sauce. Serve a portion of the pasta with the meatballs and sauce over it. Buon Appetito!! 

Meatballs!!

Is there anything more comforting then a big bowl of meatballs covered in delicious gravy? I think not. For me, one of my favorite go to meals is spaghetti and meatballs, I know it’s very simple, but that’s why I love it so much.

Meatballs are pretty much exactly what they sound like. Balls of meat. Okay, okay, it’s a little more complex than that. They are made from ground meat, usually with some sort of bread crumbs or flour, egg and spices. Even though most people initially think Italian when they think of meatballs, something that I have always loved is that every culture has their own take on this classic delicious treat. 

Chinese meatballs are sometimes made with pork and steamed, in Germany, there are a famous version of meatballs called Konigsberger Klopse which contain anchovy or salted herring and when we think of Swedish food, you are automatically think of the Swedish Meatball covered in all of that delightful cream sauce. There are many other takes on the meatball, but if I told you all of them, well, then I could never get to my own, which is obviously Italian. Another fun little piece of information is that the ancient Roman cookbook, Apicius, contained many meatball type recipes. This meatball is a classic family recipe from my mother, but I have altered it to make it gluten free.

These are just delicious. I hate a very soft meatball, but I also hate a hard one, these are a perfect combination. Not too hard, not too soft. Goldilocks would love them!! (you get it, right?) I make them in my favorite classic tomato sauce that I have posted before, you just can’t go wrong. Many meatballs are made with a combination of pork, beef or veal, but I prefer to keep mine strictly beef.  Enjoy!!

Gluten Free Meatballs

1 ½ pounds of ground beef

½ cup of grated parmigiana

1 egg

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

¼ cup of almond flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine beef, parmigiana, egg, basil, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, red pepper and almond flour until thoroughly mixed. I like to use my hands, it just works best.

Line a baking sheet with oiled tin foil or parchment paper and shape your meatballs. Make them whatever you size you like and line them up on your pan. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until nice and golden. Serve with my classic signature tomato gravy.

Classic Tomato Gravy

6 cloves of garlic (or as much as you like)

15 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

¼ cup olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Basil (finely chopped)

Crushed Italian herbs

Coarsely chop your garlic and add to a small pot over medium heat, cook until soft. Add tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, basil and crush Italian herbs. Cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve yourself some meatballs and a large ladle full of tomato gravy directly over them. Buon Appetito!! 

Focaccia Pizza and Meatballs in Marsala sauce with mushrooms

Ciao lovely readers!! Everyone loves pizza; I have yet to meet anyone who will argue with the previous statement. It is the perfect food, combining all of the basic food groups. Dough, cheese and sauce. Really, who needs anything else? It is made even better when it is prepared with a delicious homemade focaccia crust and served with a side of meatballs in a Marsala sauce with mushrooms. So for your next “Pizza night”, put the down the take-out menu and trying whipping this up!

La Pizza

Focaccia Pizza:

Focaccia Bread (recipe below)

Tomato sauce (recipe below)

1 fresh mozzarella

Slice your mozzarella (as thick or thin as you like, depending how covered you want the pizza). Spread the tomatoes sauce on the focaccia bread (which should have been baked for around 5 minutes) and add the slices of mozzarella. Put the oven on 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes. Take out and let sit and cool for 10 minutes. Eat and enjoy!!

Panis focacisu was flat bread baked in the ashes of the fireplace in ancient Rome. The word is derived from the Latin meaning “centre” and also “fireplace” – the fireplace being in the center of the home.

The basic recipe is widely associated with Ligurian cuisine. Because of so many small towns along the coast of Liguria, the focaccia recipe has been adapted into countless varieties (in Camogli they like it hard, in Voltri, they like it oily and soft). There are also many regional variations, such as focaccia dolce (sweet focaccia), popular in some parts of north-western Italy, which is a basic focaccia dough, sprinkled lightly with sugar, sometimes it’s made with raisins, honey, or other sweet ingredients. There is so much you can do with focaccia, you can prepare it for a basic pizza or you can get crazy and top it with goat cheese, olives and sun dried tomatoes. In this case, I am making it a classic tomato sauce-mozzarella pie. Whatever way you decide to top it is up to you, just as long as you enjoy it!

Focaccia

1 and ¾ cups of warm water

1 package active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

5 cups of whole wheat flour

½ teaspoon dried Italian herbs

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, split

Mix warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Put the bowl someplace warm, not to hot of cold, just right, until the yeast is bubbling, probably around 15 minutes.

In a bowl with a dough hook, mix flour, herbs, salt, ½ cup olive oil and the yeast mix on low speed. Once it has all mixed, knead for about 5 minutes on a medium speed until smooth.Put the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface, then knead by hand 2 times. Cover with plastic and put in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, this should take around an hour.

Coat a jelly roll pan with the remaining ½ cup olive oil. Put dough on the jelly pan and press to fit the size of your pan. Turn the dough over to coat with olive oil. Continue stretching to fit the pan.

Put the dough in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, another hour. Preheat over to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the top of the focaccia with sea salt and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Bake for 5 minutes before adding pizza toppings.

There are many recipes for focaccia, feel free to use your favorite for the pizza!!

Tomato sauce

15 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

¼ cup olive oil

6 cloves of garlic (or as much as you like)

Salt

Pepper

Basil (finely chopped)

Crushed Italian herbs

Coarsely chop your garlic, cook in the olive oil until soft. Add tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, basil and crush Italian herbs. Cook 6-7 minutes, until garlic is soft. It will continue to cook slightly when it is on the pizza in the oven.

Il secondo (second course, main course)

Every culture has its form of a meatball, so it is impossible to know exactly where they originated. However, the ancient Roman cookbook, Apicius (compiled in the late 4^th or early 5^th Century AD) featured many meatball type recipes.

In Italy, meatballs are known as polpette and are mostly eaten as a main course.

Meatballs in Marsala mushroom sauce

½ pound of ground sirloin

½ pound ground round

½ cup bread crumbs

¼ cup half and half

1 egg

Garlic powder (You can use fresh, just chop very finely, same for the onion)

Onion powder

Finely chopped Italian parsley

½ teaspoon dried Italian herbs, crushed

Salt

Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper (to taste)

Marsala Sauce

Crushed garlic

Thinly slice mushrooms (any kind)

Salt

Pepper

Thyme

½ cup Marsala wine

½ water or stock

Put your bread crumbs in bowl, cover with half and half, let soak until the bread crumbs are fully absorbed. Add your meat and the rest of your ingredients. Mix gently (too much handling makes for a tough meatball.) Shape into approximately 2 inch balls (Some people like their meatballs slightly flattened, whatever your prefer) Brown slowly, at least 8-9 minutes per side.  

For the sauce- Add your mushrooms and garlic to the same pan with meatballs. Allow the mushrooms to cook for about ten minutes. Add salt, pepper and thyme. Add the Marsala and your cooking liquid. Cover and let cook for an additional 10-

15 minutes.

For this meal, I’m going to suggest some Sinatra and Chianti. Buon Appetito!