Spaghetti and Meatballs

By kimvess

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium onion minced
• 2 medium cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup tomatoes peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 340 grams beef - ground
• 170 grams pork - ground
• 110 grams ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup panko Japanese breadcrumbs
• 25 grams Parmigiano-Reggiano grated
• 3 sprigs thyme - fresh stems removed and minced
• 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large onion minced
• 4 cups tomatoes peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon honey optional
• parlsey minced for garnish
• 450 grams dry spaghetti or your favorite pasta

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 20mins
Adapted from norecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the meatballs, fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until tender and starting to brown. Add the tomatoes then continue frying until there is no liquid left in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, add the beef, pork, ricotta, egg, bread crumbs, parmesan, thyme, parsley, soy sauce, salt and pepper along with the tomato and onion mixture. Put some gloves on and use your hands to knead the mixture together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Use your hands to roll the meat into 1 1/2" balls. The mixture will be pretty loose, so if you have trouble forming it into balls, put it in the fridge for a bit to stiffen up.

Heat a frying pan up over medium high heat, then add 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry the meatballs in batches, gently rolling them around with tongs to maintain their shape until browned on all sides.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil then sauté the garlic and onions until translucent. The browned meat juices on the bottom of the pan is where the sauce get's its flavor, so be sure to scrape those up and into the onions. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf and salt then bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and add honey if it's too tart or you want it sweeter.

Add the meatballs into the tomato sauce along with any collected juices. Turn the heat down to low and gently simmer until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are tender (about 20-30 minutes)

Boil some spaghetti al dente according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, then toss the pasta together with the sauce. Plate the spaghetti, then top each serving with meatballs, minced parsley and parmesan cheese.