Spaghetti and Meatballs - a classic

I'm sorry ...another one that I forgot to take the final pictures!  We were serving a troupe of hung over 20-somethings on the day after St. Patrick's Day...it was a hit - 'cause you can't beat the carbs!

Ingredients

• MEATBALLS
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1 pound medium Italian sausage (optional)
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
•  1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• dash of Frank's Red Hot (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 egg, beaten
•  
• SAUCE
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
•  1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 c freshly grated parmesean
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 c of your favorite red wine  **please please do add the red wine - you will cook it long enough for most of the alcohol to be cooked off and it really does make a difference.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients EXCEPT ground beef and ground pork and mix well.  Add the ground meat and mix well - but don't over work.  Form into equal sized balls. I the size to be just under the size of a golf ball - so a serving is two or three meatballs.  Place on lightly oiled foil covered baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Brown the sausage on all sides in a non stick frying pan.  Slice into coins and set aside. 

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomato paste and brown for a few minutes.  Crush canned tomatoes with your hands and add them to the onions and garlic.  Add the wine, salt, pepper, and sugar. 

 

2.    Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Don't boil!  Stir in remaining ingredients, sausage, and meatballs and simmer at least 30 minutes more. You can simmer all day for better flavor!  Serve over thin pasta cooked (not rinsed!) al dente.