Nonna's Spaghetti and Meatballs
This is our family recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs given to me by my Mother-in-law, who makes the best red sauce I've ever tasted, and I have been making it myself for over thirty years.
This is our family recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs given to me by my Mother-in-law, who makes the best red sauce I've ever tasted, and I have been making it myself for over thirty years.
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese grated
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese grated
- meatballs
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 2 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup basil chopped
- the sauce
- 2-3 pieces meat (pork, beef, or chicken) - small
- 1 can tomato paste 6 oz
- 1 can pureed tomatoes (large can)
- 1/2 pound ground veal (or pork)
- 1 cup soft bread crumbs (made from soft bread)
- Carbohydrate 81.9075479164949 g
- Cholesterol 183.334759166667 mg
- Fat 46.1211579166393 g
- Fiber 4.77197921011359 g
- Protein 47.9862004206373 g
- Saturated Fat 17.0905241998929 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (409g)
- Sodium 499.52687929996 mg
- Sugar 77.1355687063813 g
- Trans Fat 10.8530281979955 g
- Calories 945 calories
Step-by-step
- Brown the meat pieces in the oil until well colored, then add the garlic, onion, and saute until tender.
- Add the paste, tomatoes, water and herbs, and bring to a boil, then season with salt and pepper to your own personal taste.
- Turn mixture down to a simmer.
- For the meatballs, add the bread crumbs to the milk to moisten.
- Mix all the meatball ingredients together with the bread crumb mixture.
- Shape into golf ball sized balls, and gently drop into the simmering sauce.
- Do not stir for the first 15 minutes or so until the meatballs begin to firm up.
- Continue to cook for 2 hours over very low heat, stirring occasionally, and adding extra water as needed if the sauce becomes too thick.
- This sauce, with or without the meatballs can now be used over your pasta of choice.
- Just before serving, stir the 3 tablespoons of grated cheese into the sauce.
- Serve over pasta cooked al dente, and offer a little more parmesan cheese at the table.
Can you simply double this recipe by multiplying every ingredient by two? Doubling aromatics and meat is straightforward, but liquids and evaporation rates diverge non-linearly in wider pots. Surface area dictates how quickly water escapes during a two-hour simmer, meaning a doubled batch in a standard stockpot may require a slightly longer reduction window to achieve the correct cling to the pasta. Soft bread crumbs soaked in milk act as a crucial hydration trap inside the meat mixture, preventing proteins from tightening into dense spheres during cooking. Maintain that 1-to-2 ratio of milk to bread crumbs precisely when adjusting quantities up or down. Raw meatballs must enter a liquid already at a gentle bubble rather than a violent boil, or the exterior proteins will seize and toughen before heat penetrates the center. Refrain from introducing a spoon during the initial fifteen minutes of poaching to preserve the delicate structural integrity of the raw meat mixture. Pair the finished dish with a crisp green salad dressed in high-acid vinaigrette to cut through the heavy fats present in the ground beef, veal, and cheese. Store leftovers in an airtight glass container for up to four days, keeping in mind that the sauce flavor deepens significantly as starches from the pasta absorb residual liquids overnight.
