Week 10: Spaghetti and Drop Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti can be eaten most successfully if you inhale it like a vacuum cleaner.

~ Sophia Loren

My mom is amazing.  When I was growing up, she worked full time but always found a way to not only attend my numerous sporting and school events but also put a home-cooked meal on the table... every night.  I may not have understood just how special that was at the time, but the “specialness” of growing up this way certainly isn’t lost to me now.  One of the regulars on our dinner table was pasta topped with my mom’s homemade spaghetti sauce.  I remember it seemed like her sauce took "forever" to cook with all the hamburger, sausages, and simmering.  Her sauce is actually one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of meals together when I was growing up.  It is also one of the things that I’ve never tried to make myself.  Wait.  Just to be sure, let me think for a minute... nope.  I really don’t remember ever attempting to make spaghetti sauce.  My husband makes sauce, and it’s good, but it isn’t my mom’s.  I think that may be why I’ve never tried to make it.  I know that it will NEVER be as good as my mom’s, so why try?    

My aversion to making my own spaghetti sauce means that unless my husband whips up a batch, we are left using jarred sauce.  We don’t have a specific brand or a favorite.  Honestly, I buy whichever is on sale that week.  And it’s fine, but there is something about homemade that just brings a meal up a few notches.  That is why I’ve been looking forward to this week’s recipe, Spaghetti and Drop Meatballs with Tomato Sauce (found here).  Homemade sauce, meatballs, AND Mark Bittman claiming that they could both be made in 30 minutes?   Yup.  I’m in.  

Did it take more than 30 minutes?  I don’t really know because it all happened so fast.  Not in an overwhelming way, just in a busy way.  And by the time it was done I was stuffing my face with spaghetti and meatballs.  I couldn’t be bothered to look at the clock.  When I make this again, because I will be making again, I will most likely add some garlic and onion to the meatballs.  They were tasty, but seemed to be missing a bit of flavor.  I will also add some sugar and crushed red pepper to the sauce.  If you read my post from Week 2, you know how I feel about touching chicken.  I kind of feel the same way about hamburger.  I find rolling meatballs to be an icky task.  Therefore, I appreciated this drop method and imagine I will be using it every time I make meatballs from this day forward.   All in all, it was a pretty yummy dish, and my husband loved it.      

Mom

Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree on what they're made of, where they come from, or how often they should appear.

~Lemony Snicket

Meatballs and sauce in 30 minutes?  Good meatballs and sauce in 30 minutes?  Really, Mark Bittman, can that be done?  Those were my thoughts when I read this recipe.  I love Italian food and in a perfect world would eat some every day.   My Italian recipes are full of bubbling goodness and simmer on the stove top for hours, so I was doubtful the 30 minute time frame was realistic.  But, this is Mark Bittman, and who am I to question him?

The ingredients for the meatballs and sauce are what you would expect, nothing unusual there.  What was new to me was the method.  How to cook meatballs is a hotly debated subject.  Do you sauté them?  Or, do you bake them in the oven before adding them to your sauce.  I've prepared them both ways and prefer sautéing, even though baking is less messy and easier.  With this recipe, you sauté the meatballs, but only until the bottoms have browned.  Then you push them to the side of your pan and add the onions, tomatoes, and the rest of the ingredients.  The meatballs are cooked through as they simmer in the sauce.  Voila!  Meatballs and sauce in 30 minutes, well, perhaps 45.

So, I learned the method works.  How about the taste?  Mixed reviews here.  The meatballs tasted a little too "hamburgery", if you know what I mean.  I like my Italian meatballs with a few more ingredients.  Next time, I'll add more breadcrumbs, minced garlic, and some grated onion.  The marinara sauce was very good.  I used two full cans of crushed tomatoes, so there was quite a bit of sauce left over.  I popped the leftover sauce into the freezer and it will top some chicken parmesan in a few weeks.  Speaking of leftovers, I made 14 meatballs from a pound of ground beef, rather than the 12 ounces listed in the recipe, so there was enough leftover for another meal, which was delicious!

Would I make this again?  Most definitely!  It passed the "Honey, would you eat this again?", with five "yums" up.  With just a few tweaks and additions, it will be a family favorite.

Spaghetti and Drop Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 ounces ground beef
• 6 ounces Parmesan, or about 1 1/2 cups
• 1 bunch fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• black pepper
• 1 large onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 6 cups canned crushed tomatoes (a little less than two 28 ounce cans)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 pound of spaghetti 
  
  
  
  

Directions:

1. Bring a stockpot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Put the ground beef in a medium bowl. Grate the cheese, put 1 cup over the meat and reserve the rest, about 1/2 cup. Chop 1/2 cup of parsley and add all but 2 tablespoons to the meat mixture; save the rest of the parsley for another use. Add the bread crumbs, crack in the egg, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Gently mix until everything is just combined.
   
   
   
   
3. Raise the heat to medium-high; use 2 teaspoons to drop rounds of the meatball mixture into the skillet without touching one another if you can help it. Adjust the heat so the meatballs sizzle but don’t burn and cook undisturbed until they’re lightly browned on the bottom, 5 to 6 minutes.
   
4. Meanwhile, trim, peel and chop the onion; scatter it around the meatballs. Peel and mince the garlic and put it on top of the onions.
5. When the meatballs are browned on the bottom and the aromatics begin to soften, add the tomatoes to the skillet, along with the bay leaves and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently but steadily, then cover the skillet and cook until the meat cooks through, about 8 minutes. Remove the lid and let the sauce bubble vigorously to thicken for another 5 to 10 minutes, essentially while the pasta cooks. Stir only as needed and carefully if you do.
   
6. Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir. Start tasting after 5 minutes. When the pasta is tender but not mushy, drain it, reserving some cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot.
7. Move the meatballs to one side of the skillet with a spatula and stir the sauce; taste and adjust the seasoning. Discard the bay leaves and spoon about half the sauce into the pasta pot. Toss the pasta over low heat, adding a splash of cooking water to make it saucier if you like.
8. To serve, divide the pasta among 4 plates or bowls; top with the meatballs and the remaining sauce, and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan and parsley over the top.