*crispy waffle*

Spaghetti is such a great comfort food, and for those of us with kids, who hasn't made it at home? We have spaghetti on a regular basis, usually with me making ragu on the weekend -- the time it takes to simmer only makes it taste better. After I watched Hancock with the Little Guy, he became obsessed with eating spaghetti with meatballs ('Spaghetti Madness'!) I thought, why not?

I made this based on a combination of a few recipes and it came out delish. At the moment, everyone in the house prefers it to our usual ragu, which is good because this takes less than an hour to make, so you can actually make it on a weekday.

Basically, I fry the meatballs and then use the fond to start the sauce by deglazing the pan with some wine. It makes it super flavorful, even with few ingredients. A few tips: Do use the beef/pork mix. It makes the meatballs taste better and juicier. When you fry the meatballs, you can brown them on the outside, but don't worry if they don't cook all the way through -- they will finish cooking in the sauce. Also, they are a bit delicate, so be careful when turning them.

Spaghetti with meatballs
serves 4

For meatballs:
1/2 cup whole milk

2 slices white bread, crusts cut off

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1 egg

1 shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
a handful of fresh parsley, minced very fine
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

For sauce:
1/2 cup white wine
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes (2 - 500g cans), chopped, also reserve the juice
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
another handful of fresh parsley, minced fine

1 pound of spaghetti

Tear the bread into small pieces and add the milk. Allow the mixture to soak for 5 minutes.
Add the rest of the meatball ingredients. Mix lightly with your hands. Form into 2-inch meatballs.
Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Add the meatballs and brown for 3.4 minutes, Turn over and brown on the other side. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Pour all but 3 tablespoons of oil out of the pan. Over medium heat, add the shallots. Allow to soften for 3 minutes or so. Add the wine and scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Allow the wine to reduce by half. Add the tomatoes and sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Add the meatballs to the sauce and cover. Lower the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, start boiling the water for the spaghetti.
Uncover the saucepan. Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Make the spaghetti according to the directions.
Add the parsley to the sauce and stir. Serve with the spaghetti and pass the Parmigiano!

Links:
Crispy Waffle: Weekend ragu

Labels: recipes, the savory and salty

posted by sheryl | 9:29 PM | | share: facebook | tweet this!

One of life's best comfort foods, and all from scratch? It sounds too good to be true. Your meal turned out deliciously (and I no longer want the take-out food I just ordered). YUM!
By

Elyse 2/27/09 3:09 AM

Your meatball recipe sounds amazing! I just made some otherwise I'd be making yours in a flash,

Spaghetti sauce from a jar is something that you just can't go back to once you've mastered making your own.
By

Maris 2/27/09 7:00 AM

I have yet graduated from store-bought spaghetti sauce yet. But I think you have inspired me!

It looks delish!
By

sugarlens 2/27/09 6:10 PM

Sugarlens -- can't wait for you to try it -- as Maris said, once you make your own sauce, you can't go back to a jar. :)
By

sheryl 2/28/09 10:40 PM