Family-Style Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients

• 2 jar passata (strained tomatoes) (Use a couple of jars; jar size was not stated.)
• water (Add approximately the same amount of water to each empty passata jar, shake, and add to the sauce.)
• 1.5 tsp salt for the tomato sauce
• fresh basil (Amount not stated; add to the sauce. Basil was mentioned in the source and not added to the final portion because it would darken before serving.)
• 0.5 yellow onion (Finely chop or process.)
• 3 clove garlic (Process or mince.)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 0.5 cup fresh parsley
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp salt for the meatballs
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 0.75 cup Parmesan and Grana Padano cheese (A mixture of Parmesan and Grana Padano.)
• 2 eggs
• 500 g spaghettini (The package shown is 500 g; cook in salted water according to the package directions.)
• water for the pasta (Use enough water to cook the spaghettini; the source says the water is already salted.)
• salt for the pasta water (The source says the pasta water is already salted.)

Steps

1. 1

   Pour the passata into a large pot. Add approximately the same amount of water to each empty jar, shake the jars to rinse them, and add that water to the pot.

2. 2

   Add about 1½ teaspoons of salt and the fresh basil to the passata. Place the pot over low heat and warm the sauce, stirring occasionally so it does not stick.

3. 3

   Prepare the meatball mixture by combining the onion and garlic with the ground beef, ground pork, parsley, breadcrumbs, 2 teaspoons of salt, black pepper, the Parmesan-Grana Padano mixture, and the eggs.

4. 4

   Mix the meatball ingredients until evenly combined. Use a ⅓-cup measure as a rough guideline for portioning the meatballs; the source indicates that this makes very large meatballs.

5. 5

   Bring the tomato sauce to a boil on the stove so it can sear the meatballs when they are added.

6. 6

   Drop the portioned meatballs directly into the boiling sauce. The source specifically notes that the meatballs are not fried, baked, or floured first.

7. 7

   Let the sauce and meatballs boil for 1–2 minutes.

8. 8

   Cover the pot, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook the meatballs in the sauce for about 45 minutes.

9. 9

   Check one meatball for doneness after the simmering time. The source removes one and describes it as nicely cooked.

10. 10

    While the meatballs finish, bring a pot of already-salted water to a boil. Add the spaghettini and cook according to the package directions; the package shown indicates approximately 6–8 minutes.

11. 11

    Remove some of the cooked meatballs from the sauce so there is room to finish the pasta with plenty of sauce.

12. 12

    Add the cooked spaghettini to the tomato sauce and toss or stir briefly to coat it thoroughly with the sauce.

13. 13

    Serve the sauced spaghettini family-style with the remaining meatballs and additional cheese if desired. The source does not finish the portion with basil because it would darken before serving.

Notes

The source does not state the passata jar size, the amount of basil, the exact number of meatballs, or the final serving quantity. It also does not specify a separate finishing cheese amount. The sauce is cooked low and slow after the initial boil, and the meatballs cook directly in the sauce rather than being fried or baked.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• Italian
• family-style
• pasta
• meatballs
• stovetop
• one-pot sauce