Spaghetti and Meatballs

I’ve been away from this blog and my kitchen for over a week. We were vacationing in one of our favorite places in the world – Key West.

I missed my kitchen and my family was hankering for a home-cooked meal.

So today, I bring you one of my most treasured recipes.

But first a story…

Once upon a time, there was a young Mother (me) who lived next door to a delightful couple, Mrs. D and Mr. D.

Mrs. D is from England. Mr. D is from Italy.

When Mrs. D would make spaghetti (trying to please her husband’s Italian background) – Mr. D would walk around in circles scratching his head.

Mr. D was SO stressed out for Mrs. D would make her spaghetti with KETCHUP!

One day, Mr. D had his mother come over to teach Mrs. D how to make spaghetti. I was invited to the lesson and today I share with you Mama D’s spaghetti and meatballs.

I won’t claim it to be the best but I’ve never made any other recipe since I’ve made this.

So let’s begin – you will need a few hours for this recipe.

Start by browning 3 cloves of garlic in 1/2 cup of olive oil.

Once the garlic is starting to turn brown, saute a small can of tomato pasted in the garlic/oil mixture. This will give the sauce a rich, roasted garlic taste that will come out as the sauce simmers. Once the tomato paste has absorbed the oil and garlic flavors, add one can of water from the paste can.

Add 1 28 oz. can of tomato puree, 1 28 oz. can of tomato sauce plus 1 can of water from the 28 oz. can.

Stir together. Add salt and pepper.

Here’s the secret to the sauce…

Stir in 1/2 tsp. baking soda. It will fizzle but it will take the acidity down from the tomatoes..

Let sauce simmer at least an hour but it’s better when it has simmered all day.

To make the meatballs, place the following ingredients in a stand mixer or large bowl if mixing by hand:

– 1 lb. ground turkey

– 1 lb. ground round (I like the 90% lean)

– 2 tbs. chopped fresh parsley

– 2 tbs. finely chopped onion

– 1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs

– 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (and for goodness’ sake, don’t use the stuff out of the green container!)

– 2/3 tsp. salt

– 2 tsp. pepper

– 5 eggs

Form the meat mixture into round balls. I like a medium sized meatball.

Brown the meatballs over medium high heat in either canola oil or grape seed oil.

Gently turn meatballs until browned on all sides and place in sauce until completely cooked.

Serve over your favorite pasta!

This recipe makes about 30 – 35 meatballs, depending on the size. The meatballs and sauce freeze well.

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