Meatballs and Spaghetti

I’ve been lucky enough to work as co-author of four Italian cookbooks as well as writer/researcher on three seasons of a PBS Italian cooking show. That means that for a guy with, sadly, no Italian blood, I’m no slouch in the meatballs and spaghetti department. This recipe has a lot of ingredients (that’s why I grouped them) but almost no difficulty. In fact, recipe geeks to the contrary, you can easily adjust the amounts of almost anything almost any way you want. Most Italian food is so much better than most French food in that way. In terms of attitude, for sure.

Sauce:

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 (28-ounce) cans Italian whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

½ tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 dried bay leaf

½ cup red wine

Meatballs:

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup dehydrated chopped onions

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 teaspoon Creole seasoning blend

1 tablespoon prepared ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

 

1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente

Grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Heat about 1/2 the olive oil in a deep skillet or saucepan. Saute the onion, celery and carrot until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Season during this cooking with sea salt, black pepper, lemon pepper and crushed red pepper. Puree the whole tomatoes in a blender or food processor, either until smooth or some chunks remain, as you prefer. Add the minced garlic into the caramelized vegetables and stir for 30-45 seconds. Pour the pureed tomatoes into the pan with the vegetables. Add the fresh basil, oregano, parsley and thyme. Add the bay leaf and the red wine. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, combine the ground beef in a large bowl with eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, onion, parsley, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, lemon pepper, Creole seasoning, ketchup and yellow mustard. Gently pressing and then rolling between your hands, form the mixture into meatballs 1½ to 2 inches in diameter. Don’t pack them too tightly, just enough they’ll hold together. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet and cook the meatballs in batches. When each batch is brown on all sides, cover the pan to let meatballs cook through (or you can finish briefly in the microwave). Drain cooked meatballs on paper towels, then add to the simmering sauce for at least 30 minutes. Serve meatballs and sauce atop cooked spaghetti, sprinkled with Parmesan and basil leaves. Serves 6-8.