Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 2 tablespoons, plus 1 cup pure olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 pound ground chuck
- 1/2 pound ground veal
- 1/2 pound ground pork butt
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs (made from fresh white bread)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Tomato Sauce:
- 1/4 cup pure olive oil
- 2 medium Spanish onions, finely chopped
- 4 to 6 cloves garlic, rubbed to paste
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1/4 cup tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 (28-ounce) cans plum tomatoes and their juice, mashed up with a whisk
- 2 small Cubano peppers, whole, with some knife slits
- 16 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound (number 8 or 9) spaghetti, cooked al dente
- 3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves
- Wedge Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Fresh parsley sprigs, for garnish
Directions
For the meatballs:
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, about 1 1/2 minutes.
Whisk together the eggs and parsley in a large bowl. Add the browned garlic, meats and cheese and gently mix together until combined. Begin adding bread crumbs 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture just holds together. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Form the meat into 1 1/2-inch balls.
Heat the remaining 1 cup of oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the meatballs and fry until golden brown on all sides. Carefully remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
For the Tomato Sauce:
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and chili flakes and cook until the onion is soft. Add the tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds.
Stir in the tomatoes and let simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Add the peppers and parsley sprigs, season with salt and pepper, to taste, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the meatballs, reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the meatballs have cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes longer.
Drain the spaghetti and return to the pot. Add some of the sauce and toss to coat for about 30 seconds. Stir the chopped basil into the tomato sauce and ladle some of the sauce over the spaghetti and meatballs. Grate lots of Parmesan over the top and garnish with fresh parsley sprigs.
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By yarnexpress_130...
Ctr Ossipee, NH
on September 04, 2012
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We thought the sauce was excellent. I only used 1/2 tsp of crushed red because not all family members enjoy heat. It was perfect even for me & I like a heat. No pepper but read here that the pepper used was sweet so I used some roasted ripe bell pepper I had in the freezer. Used a combo of fresh basil & oregano because that was what I could harvest.
Made more substitutions with the meatballs which also turned out excellent. Used beef & turkey & instead of pork used some bulk hot(not veryItalian sausage. I also cooked some minced onion with the garlic & used panko. For a week day meal & 1 cook, instead of frying the meatballs I heavily coated a sheet pan with evoo & rolling the meatballs around a bit to coat. Then into the upper part of a 450 oven to brown, checking occasionally & rolling until a nice crust formed. Much easier than frying & less of a mess, too.
Bobby's times are off a home kitchen. It took over 20 min to bring the sauce to a simmer.
By jillbastone
on February 20, 2012
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Sauce is great only sauce make now. Meatmalls great also, and easy to make.
By Giantsof86
on August 21, 2011
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Pretty standard way to make meatballs, very good. i used a pound a pork and half pound for the other 2 ingredients. Only complaint, for the sauce, NO NEED TO USE TOMATO PASTE!!! ruins the sauce, Use the right cans of tomato's, add a lil water to the cans to clean the cans, put in the sauce, and simmer, it will thicken on its own. Paste is way to overpowering and in Italy and my parents from Italy, frown upon paste. Did not use the peppers, i use italian green peppers if i use any at all. Also used a lil more cheese with meatballs, Enjoy.
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