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Esther's Spaghetti and Meatballs

A classic meatball in tomato sauce recipe
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mediterranean
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

Meatball ingredients:
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • One medium to large yellow onion finely minced
  • 5 to 10 cloves fresh garlic finely minced
  • 1 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • Two eggs
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
Tomato sauce ingredients:
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4-6 cloves fresh garlic
  • 2 28 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
  • 1/2 of a 6 ounce can tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1-3 teaspoons red chili flakes

Equipment

  • 1 8 quart stock pot
  • Immersion blender

Method
 

Mix the meatball ingredients:
  1. Gently fold all ingredients together, taking care not to over mix the meat. The end result should be a heterogeneous mixture. If overmixed, the meatballs will have a dense, undesirable texture.
  2. Placed the prepared meatball mixture in the refrigerator while you make the tomato sauce.
Make the tomato sauce:
  1. Heat the olive oil in your quart stock pot until hot. Add the garlic and fry only momentarily. Do not let the garlic brown or burn. If it does brown or burns, throw it away and start over as the resulting sauce will be bitter.
  2. After you’ve let the garlic mingle in the hot oil for a moment, add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, dried herbs, spices and salt. Let everything start to heat up and bubble.
  3. Next use an immersion blender to break up the whole tomatoes and make a chunky sauce. Keep the sauce at a simmer while you form the meatballs.
Shaping the meatballs and adding to the sauce:
  1. You can scoop up the mixture with your hands to make meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. My husband, who prefers to get every dish in the house dirty when cooking likes to use an ice cream scooper. your choice – depending upon who does the dishes in your house.
  2. Gently place each formed meatball into the simmering sauce so it is covered with the sauce on all sides.
  3. Gently nestle each meatball in next to its neighbor so that they don’t break apart while they are still raw.
  4. Cover and adjust the heat to maintain a simmer. Occasionally shake the pot on the stove to ensure that the meatballs don’t stick to the bottom. Do not stir this mixture!
  5. Simmer for 30 minutes.
  6. Serve over your favorite pasta, or just ladle some sauce and meatballs into a bowl and serve with freshly grated Parmesan.