Spaghetti & Meatballs

Description

Spaghetti & meatballs is possibly the most quintessential Italian-American dish out there. While meatballs, or “polpette” in Italian, exist as a standalone meal in Italy, they were traditionally never paired with any sort of pasta on the same plate. This dish was created by Italian immigrants who arrived in the US around the turn of the 19th century, who discovered that meat was far more affordable in the US. At the time, ground beef, canned tomatoes and dried pasta were relatively affordable and could make for a hearty meal when combined together - thus, this is how the dish of spaghetti & meatballs was born. One feature of this dish that separates it from pasta preparation in Italy is the fact that the pasta and sauce are usually not mixed before plating. This type of preparation may seem strange to someone in Italy, but this is the traditional way that most Italian-American families eat pasta at home. In Italian-American restaurants today, it is more common to see more traditional Italian influences on this dish, such as mixing the pasta and sauce together before plating; this goes to show just how much Italian cooking techniques continue to influence Italian-American cuisine to this day.

Ingredients

• Dried spaghetti

• Grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

Meatballs

• 1 lb. ground beef

• 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs

• 1 large egg

• 2 tbsp heavy cream

• 2 tbsp grated Pecorino cheese

• 2 cloves of garlic, grated

• 1 cup olive oil

Tomato Sauce

• 2 cups pureed tomatoes

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/4 medium onion, finely diced

• 1 tsp olive oil

• Salt & pepper

Preparation

In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, egg, heavy cream, pecorino and garlic until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper - this mixture should be very concentrated with flavor and too salty. Then, mix in the meat using your hands until the everything is thoroughly combined. Ideally, cover and rest overnight in the fridge. You can also cook these right away.

Using your hands, roll the meat into balls about the same size as a golf ball - feel free to make them bigger or smaller. Heat a frying pan over high heat and add the olive oil. Add the meatballs one at a time in a spiral pattern towards the center of the pan. Using a spoon or tongs, flip each meatball to the other side, going in order of which ones cooked the longest. They should be browned on each side but don’t worry about cooking them all the way through. Remove once browned.

To make the sauce, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs, increase heat to high and bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook from 25 minutes up to 3 hours. Season sauce to taste with salt & pepper.

Boil spaghetti per the package directions. Plate spaghetti, then spoon the sauce and meatballs over top the pasta. Sprinkle over additional pecorino cheese.

Notes

• A traditional meat combination for meatballs is equal parts ground beef, veal and pork.

• It is more traditional in Italian-American cuisine to serve pasta sauce over top pasta, versus mixing the pasta with sauce like in Italy.