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Real Meatballs and Spaghetti

Source of Recipe

From "Barefoot Contessa Family Style" by Ina Garten


Recipe Introduction

"This is not something my mother made when I was growing up, so I had to do some research about spaghetti and meatballs. The best idea came from the famous New York Italian restaurant called Rao's: they add water to the meatballs, which keeps them moist and delicious. I may not be Italian, but this has definitely become a staple in my house."

List of Ingredients

For the meatballs:
◦ � pound ground veal
◦ � pound ground pork
◦ 1 pound ground beef
◦ 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
◦ � cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
◦ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
◦ � cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
◦ 2 teaspoons kosher salt
◦ � teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
◦ � teaspoon ground nutmeg
◦ 1 extra-large egg, beaten
◦ Vegetable oil
◦ Olive oil

For the sauce:
◦ 1 tablespoon good olive oil
◦ 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
◦ 1 � teaspoons minced garlic
◦ � cup good red wine, such as Chianti
◦ 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in pur�e, chopped
◦ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
◦ 1 � teaspoons kosher salt
◦ � teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:
◦ 1 � pound spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
◦ Freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Recipe

Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and � cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of � inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saut� over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper. Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6






❧ Note:
When you cook spaghetti, don't use oil in the water; the sauce will stick better. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it in a colander. If you don't use it right away, run hot water over it and it will separate.