Cold season, we’ve had enough of you. Please send sunshine.
I’ve pretty much had a cold for 15 days. The taste of Tylenol cold medicine seems permanently lodges in my taste buds. The kids have had non-stop runny noses and now my husband is down and out. So it was time to pull out the only thing that would help: pure, unadulterated comfort food.
This spaghetti and meatballs is a household favorite. The kids love it; my husband swears it’s the best he’s ever had. And I love it because it means I make one meal instead of my usual gig as a short-order cook.
I might not be able to make cold season go away, but this spaghetti and meatballs will warm you up for sure. My other go-to for an easy, family-pleasing dinner is my chicken cutlets with white wine and garlic. This one comes from mom and is a recipe I grew up on.
And by the way, if you try one of my recipes, leave a comment and let me know what you think. What did you change? Or feel free to ask questions and I’ll reply.
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 8 oz. ground veal
- 8 oz. ground pork
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 1½ Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 cup good quality olive oil
- 2 28-oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice
- 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
- Salt, to taste
- 1 pound spaghetti
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
- To make the meatballs, combine the beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add the eggs, cheese, parsley and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Using your hands, blend the ingredients together. Mix the breadcrumbs into the meat mixture. Slowly add the water, a little at a time, until the mixture is quite moist.
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan. When the oil is very hot but not smoking, form meatballs that are about 2 inches in diameter and add them to the oil in batches. When the bottom half of each meatball is very brown and slightly crispy, turn them over and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
- To make the sauce, put the tomatoes in a saucepan, breaking them up with your hands. Add the butter, onion and salt to taste. Cook at a low simmer for 45 minutes or more (until it reaches your desired thickness), stirring occasionally. Smash the tomatoes with a spoon as it cooks.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 30 minutes so that the flavors blend.
- Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package and toss with the sauce. You can discard the onion if you want, but it's actually really delicious. Top with the meatballs and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
This recipe was delicious. I just had a problem keeping my meatballs round and not burning/sticking to the pan – any tips?
Hey Christine! Glad you liked it. To keep the meatballs more round, you could chill the mixture before forming the meatballs. Or cut down on the water a bit so your mixture is more firm. And as for cooking them, I use a non-stick pan and lower the heat of they start to brown too fast (then raise it again if needed).