Spaghetti and Meatballs
Italian
Shape the meatballs evenly and avoid crowding the pan when browning them. Let them finish gently in the sauce so the outside holds together when you serve.
- Servings (recipe yield)
- 6 servings
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Rest / chill / soak
- Not provided
- Total time
- Not provided
Estimated times for this version of the recipe. Equipment, ingredient preparation and batch size can change the timing.
Times from the source where available.
Ingredients
- ½ chopped sweet yellow onion
- 3 cloves chopped garlic
- 1 cup finely chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped cremini brown mushrooms
- 2 cans (28 oz.) Italian plum tomatoes
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- 3 tbsp. tomato paste
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese blend
- ¼ cup red wine (optional)
- 1 lb. ground beef
- ½ lb. fresh bulk Italian style pork sausage
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped basil
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley
- ½ cup finely chopped cremini brown mushrooms
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese blend
- Red wine (optional)
- 1 ½ lb. dry spaghetti
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a 4 to 5 quart pot on medium-high heat.
- Add onions and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer or until fragrant.
- Add the carrots and mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, stir to blend, and cook for a minute longer.
- Add the canned tomatoes, basil, and parsley.
- Mash and stir the tomatoes with a potato masher until the sauce starts to thicken, about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer gently while preparing meatballs, stirring occasionally.
- In a large bowl, mix by hand the beef, Italian sausage, basil, parsley, mushrooms, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, and 2 tablespoons of salt and pepper.
- Do not overmix or the meatballs will be tough.
- Use small melon baller (or teaspoon) to form 1-inch round meatballs.
- Roll and compress into tight balls.
- In a separate wide, shallow pan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat.
- Brown meatballs on all sides for about 2-3 minutes.
- Depending on the pan size, you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Cook them in a single layer; do not crowd the pan by stacking them.
- Do not overcook the meatballs; they will continue to cook in the sauce.
- Towards the end of browning the meatballs, add a little bit of red wine to deglaze the pan.
- Add the cheese and red wine to the sauce and stir it in. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to taste.
- Add meatballs and gently stir. Simmer the sauce and meatballs for 30-45 minutes while cooking the spaghetti, stirring occasionally.
- Cook the pasta and optionally add 1/3 cup of pasta water to the sauce.
- Place a thin layer of sauce on a plate. Add pasta, sauce and meatballs.
Source: Public Domain Recipes · closedgl · Recipe source · Public-domain source license