Tag: spaghetti

Homemade Italian Meatballs in Marinara Sauce

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While this is not traditionally a dish found in restaurants around Italy, I think it’s pretty much synonymous with Italian American cuisine. My approach is to keep it simple and treat it as two dishes combined. Meatballs in a marinara sauce. 

There are so many options for meatballs and so many things you can add. This is my basic recipe and feel free to experiment. 

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 lb Beef, ground, but not too lean. 80/20 is perfect. 

1 lb Pork, ground

2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs 

2 Tbsp Milk, whole. 

2 Eggs, beaten 

1 Tbsp Parmesan or Romano Cheese, grated

Salt and Pepper

1 Tbsp Onion, grated. 

1 clove Garlic, crushed. 

Dash of freshly grated Nutmeg. 

Gently combine the meat using two forks to pull it together without compacting it. The key to a good moist meatball is not to overwork the meat. Then combine the breadcrumbs and milk and add the two eggs and beat the mixture. 

Gently mix the garlic, onion, grated cheese and nutmeg into the meat mixture and add the breadcrumb, milk and egg mixture in a bit at a time gently incorporating it with a fork and then finish with salt and pepper. Cover it, and into the fridge for at least an hour.

Sauce:

Olive Oil

1 medium Onion, minced

1/2 cup Carrot, minced

1/2 cup Celery, minced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 cup Marsala or White Wine 

2- 28oz cans of whole peeled Tomatoes, crushed by hand. 

Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

Form your meatballs into the size of about a golf ball. Then you have two choices. You can lightly sear them in a sauté pan with olive oil or you can drop them into your simmering sauce. I believe either way is good.

Sauté your onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until it’s translucent, and the smell changes slightly. The key to a good sauce is a properly prepared sofritto.

Deglaze with your wine and add your tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer. Add in your meatballs and simmer gently for 2-3 hours.

Serve with spaghetti and traditionally some garlic bread. Perfect!

Homemade Italian Meatballs in Marinara Sauce

While this is not traditionally a dish found in restaurants around Italy, I think it’s pretty much synonymous with Italian American cuisine. My approach is to keep it simple and treat it as two dishes combined. Meatballs in a marinara sauce. 
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 3 hours
Servings: 6
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Meatballs:
  • 1 lb Beef ground, but not too lean. 80/20 is perfect.
  • 1 lb Pork ground
  • 2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs
  • 2 Tbsp Milk whole.
  • 2 Eggs beaten
  • 1 Tbsp Parmesan or Romano Cheese grated
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Onion grated.
  • 1 clove Garlic crushed.
  • Dash of freshly grated Nutmeg.
Sauce:
  • Olive Oil
  • 1 medium Onion minced
  • 1/2 cup Carrot minced
  • 1/2 cup Celery minced
  • 2 cloves Garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup Marsala or White Wine
  • 2- 28 oz cans of whole peeled Tomatoes crushed by hand.
  • Salt and Pepper

Equipment

  • Heavy Pot

Method
 

Meatballs
  1. Gently combine the meat using two forks to pull it together without compacting it. The key to a good moist meatball is not to overwork the meat. Then combine the breadcrumbs and milk and add the two eggs and beat the mixture.
  2. Gently mix the garlic, onion, grated cheese and nutmeg into the meat mixture and add the breadcrumb, milk and egg mixture in a bit at a time gently incorporating it with a fork and then finish with salt and pepper. Cover it, and into the fridge for at least an hour.Form your meatballs into the size of about a golf ball. Then you have two choices. You can lightly sear them in a sauté pan with olive oil or you can drop them into your simmering sauce. I believe either way is good.
Sauce:
  1. Sauté your onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until it’s translucent, and the smell changes slightly. The key to a good sauce is a properly prepared sofritto.
  2. Deglaze with your wine and add your tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer. Add in your meatballs and simmer gently for 2-3 hours.
  3. Serve with spaghetti and traditionally some garlic bread. Perfect!

Notes

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How to Make Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

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Italian food has a wonderful variety of different regions and styles. I have learned to appreciate the uniquness of the various regional cuisines. This is one of those recipes that reflects true home style cooking of Rome.

The loose translation of this dish is, “spaghetti in the style of a prostitute”. I don’t know exactly why it has this name, but I have heard that it was a quick dish to throw together, and as such it was popular with the “ladies of the evening”.

Ready to up your authentic pasta game, give this a try How to Make the Perfect Amatrice-Style Pasta Sauce

Why don’t you add salt to this recipe

When you look at the ingredients, anchovy, capers and olives, they have a lot of salt already. So, it’s best not to add any while cooking. If you feel it needs salt, you can always add it at the end, but you can’t take it out once it’s in there. I don’t think I’ve ever needed to add salt.

Ingredients:

1 large finely chopped Onion

4 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

2- 28 oz. cans of crushed Tomatoes, or whole tomatoes that are lightly chopped in the processor, or crushed by hand. San Marzano’s are the best.

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

3 tsp. Red Pepper flakes or a few whole red peppers

4 to 6 Anchovy filets

¼ cup of Capers, (Try to get the salted capers and prepare them by rinsing and then soaking for 30 minutes. it’s worth the extra effort, as the flavor is vastly superior to the brined capers).

½ cup pitted Kalamata Olives, sliced.

Freshly ground Black Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Note: You will notice that there is no salt in this recipe. When you consider the olives, anchovies and capers, you really don’t need additional salt. If you omit the anchovies, you might need a pinch of salt.

Preparation:

Add the olive oil to a saucepan on medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, and cook until translucent.

Add the anchovy filets and saute until they melt, then the red pepper flakes and the black pepper. Let the mixture sauté for about 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat, until the mixture comes together.

Then add the tomatoes, bring it back to a simmer, and reduce the heat  and let it simmer uncovered. After 30 minutes, add the capers and olives and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Serve over penne, bucatini or spaghetti. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Note: If you want the best salted capers, go to www.gustiamo.com

How to Make Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Italian food has a wonderful variety of different regions and styles. I have learned to appreciate the uniquness of the various regional cuisines. This is one of those recipes that reflects true home style cooking of Rome.
The loose translation of this dish is, “spaghetti in the style of a prostitute”. I don’t know exactly why it has this name, but I have heard that it was a quick dish to throw together, and as such it was popular with the “ladies of the evening”.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large finely chopped Onion
  • 4 cloves of Garlic finely chopped
  • 2- 28 oz. cans of crushed Tomatoes or whole tomatoes that are lightly chopped in the processor, or crushed by hand. San Marzano’s are the best.
  • 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 3 tsp. Red Pepper flakes or a few whole red peppers
  • 4 to 6 Anchovy filets
  • ¼ cup of Capers (Try to get the salted capers and prepare them by rinsing and then soaking for 30 minutes. it’s worth the extra effort, as the flavor is vastly superior to the brined capers).
  • ½ cup pitted Kalamata Olives sliced.
  • Freshly ground Black Pepper
  • Parmesan Cheese

Equipment

  • Saute Pan
  • Pot

Method
 

  1. Add the olive oil to a saucepan on medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, and cook until translucent.
  2. Add the anchovy filets and saute until they melt, then the red pepper flakes and the black pepper. Let the mixture sauté for about 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat, until the mixture comes together.
  3. Then add the tomatoes, bring it back to a simmer, and reduce the heat and let it simmer uncovered. After 30 minutes, add the capers and olives and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes.
  4. Serve over penne, bucatini or spaghetti. Top with Parmesan cheese.
Note: You will notice that there is no salt in this recipe. When you consider the olives, anchovies and capers, you really don’t need additional salt. If you omit the anchovies, you might need a pinch of salt.
    Note: If you want the best salted capers, go to http://www.gustiamo.com

      Notes

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      Tried this recipe?

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