Real Meatballs & Spaghetti

Well, I think I have found one of the best recipes for meatballs and spaghetti out there, and once again, it's from Ina Garten. (I have such a girl-crush on her!) This recipe makes wonderful, juicy, and flavorful meatballs that even my picky son loves. The secret ingredient to the meatballs is adding water to the ground meat mixture! In my opinion, her tomato sauce is merely okay. So I venture forth from the recipe to make my own sauce. After browning the meatballs, I drained off most of the oil. Then I sauteed a chopped onions and garlic, along with a little salt and pepper. I found a nice-looking eggplant this morning at the grocery store, so I peeled and diced it and added eggplant once my onions were soft. When it was all golden brown and most of the water had cooked out of the veggies, I then deglazing the pan with about a cup of red wine and added a large (28-oz.) can of crushed tomatoes and a jar of prepared spaghetti sauce. Then I transferred all if it to a crockpot where it can cook and simmer with the meatballs over low heat all day. I'll boil up some spaghetti or other pasta tonight to eat with the meatballs.


REAL MEATBALLS & SPAGHETTI

For the meatballs:
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 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 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:
1½ lbs. spaghetti, cooked according to package directions Freshly grated Parmesan

Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 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 1/4-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 saute 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.

--“Barefoot Contessa Family Style” cookbook