Spaghetti & Meatballs with Homemade Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti & Meatballs with Homemade Tomato Sauce

Meatballs

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 extra-large egg, beaten
Vegetable oil
Olive oil

Directions

Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parmesan, salt, and pepper, in a bowl. Combine very lightly with hands.

Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet as your roll them out., stick the pan into the freezer for about 5 or 10 minutes. This just firms them up a little and helps them stay together while they brown.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork.

This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels.

 

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

20 ripe tomatoes (roma)

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 ½ tsp of minced garlic

1 cup of yellow chopped onion

1 cup of chopped red bell pepper

1 tablespoon of chopped oregano

1 tablespoon of chopped basil
2 teaspoons salt (optional)

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions

1. Boil a pot of water and prep the ice bath: Bring a large Dutch oven or stockpot of water to a boil over high heat. Fill a mixing bowl with ice and water and set this next to the stove.
2. Prepare the tomatoes for blanching: Core out the stems from the tomatoes and slice a shallow "X" in the bottom of each fruit.
3. Blanch the tomatoes to peel them: Working in batches, drop several tomatoes into the boiling water. Cook until you see the skin starting to wrinkle and split, 45 to 60 seconds, then lift the tomatoes out with the slotted spoon and plunge them into the ice water. Continue with the rest of the tomatoes, transferring the cooled tomatoes from the ice water to another mixing bowl as they cool.
   
4. Strip the peels from the tomatoes: When finished blanching, use your hands or a paring knife to strip the skins from the tomatoes. Discard the water used to boil the tomatoes.
   
5. Roughly chop the tomatoes: Working in batches, pulse the tomatoes in the food processor. Pulse a few times for chunkier sauce, or process until smooth for a pureed sauce. Transfer each batch into the Dutch oven or stockpot. Alternatively, chop the tomatoes by hand. Process through a food mill for a smoother sauce. For a very chunky sauce, skip this step entirely and let the tomatoes break down into large pieces as they cook.
6. Cook garlic and onions. Brown onion and red bell pepper in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and cook another few moments until fragrant.
   
7. Simmer the tomatoes:  Bring the tomato sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Continue simmering for 30 to 60 minutes
8. Finish it up: return the meatballs to the tomato sauce and then add tomato paste, red wine vinegar, basil, oregano, salt, and sugar. 
   Boil for another 30 minutes on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reaches the taste and consistency you like.
   

Spaghetti 

Ingredients

1 package of Spaghetti 

Directions

Bring a pot of water to boil, then add a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of olive oil, and pasta to the boiling water.  Cook pasta until al dente and not mushy.  Drain.

Assemble:  Arrange spaghetti on a plate, spoon tomatoes sauce on meatballs over the spaghetti.  Add freshly chopped basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy your meal with garlic bread!