Spaghetti and Meatballs

- ⏲️Prep time: 20 min

- 🍳 Cook time: 40 min

- 🍽️Servings: 6

Ingredients

For the sauce

- ½ chopped sweet yellow onion

- 3 cloves chopped garlic

- 1 cup finely chopped carrots

- 1 cup chopped cremini brown mushrooms

- 2 cans (28 oz.) Italian plum tomatoes

- ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

- 3 tbsp. tomato paste

- ¼ cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese blend

- ¼ cup red wine (optional)

For the meatballs

- 1 lb. ground beef

- ½ lb. fresh bulk Italian style pork sausage

- 2 tbsp. finely chopped basil

- 2 tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley

- ½ cup finely chopped cremini brown mushrooms

- 2 large eggs

- ¾ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs

- ¼ cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese blend

- Red wine (optional)

For the pasta

- 1 ½ lb. dry spaghetti

Directions

Prepare the sauce

1. Heat olive oil in a 4 to 5 quart pot on medium-high heat.

2. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer or until fragrant.

4. Add the carrots and mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add the tomato paste, stir to blend, and cook for a minute longer.

6. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, and parsley.

7. Mash and stir the tomatoes with a potato masher until the sauce starts to thicken, about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.

8. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently while preparing meatballs, stirring occasionally.

Form the meatballs

9. In a large bowl, mix by hand the beef, Italian sausage, basil, parsley, mushrooms, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, and 2 tablespoons of salt and pepper.

- Do not overmix or the meatballs will be tough.

10. Use small melon baller (or teaspoon) to form 1-inch round meatballs.

11. Roll and compress into tight balls.

Cook the meatballs

12. In a separate wide, shallow pan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat.

13. Brown meatballs on all sides for about 2-3 minutes.

- Depending on the pan size, you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Cook them in a single layer; do not crowd the pan by stacking them.

- Do not overcook the meatballs; they will continue to cook in the sauce.

14. Towards the end of browning the meatballs, add a little bit of red wine to deglaze the pan.

Finish and simmer the sauce

15. Add the cheese and red wine to the sauce and stir it in. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to taste.

16. Add meatballs and gently stir. Simmer the sauce and meatballs for 30-45 minutes while cooking the spaghetti, stirring occasionally.

Cook the spaghetti

17. [Cook the pasta](pasta.html) and optionally add 1/3 cup of pasta water to the sauce.

Serve

18. Place a thin layer of sauce on a plate. Add pasta, sauce and meatballs.

Contribution

- ClosedGL - [GitHub](https://github.com/ClosedGL2)

;tags: italian pasta beef pork cheesefare