I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE PASTA!!
However I only eat it when I go to some of my favorite Italian restaurants. Its not because I cannot make pasta from home, it is because I will eat it all the time if I had it my way. I try to eat clean and stay away from pasta, but today I wanted to cheer up my boyfriend up after a bad day with one of his favorite dishes, my meatball pasta.
I promise who ever you make this dish for will be very impressed! Its really very easy recipe that will be classic pasta dish!
BON APPETIT!
{ I really love this dish, such a favorite !}
{The tip to great meatballs is to mix 2 differences meat like pork, beef or veal. If you are want a more healthy dish try ground chicken and turkey meatball mix }
{Add breadcrumbs & eggs into meatball mix}
{Place rolled meatballs on tray and bake. If find baking meatballs quicker and less messy than frying. Prepare tomato sauce and save pasta for last}
{Boyfriend size! He licked his plate!}
Hot Italian Meatball Pasta
Meatballs
*1 small onion, grated
*2 Tbl dried parsley
*1 tsp dried oregano
*1 tsp dried basil
*2 large egg
*3 garlic cloves, minced
*1 teaspoon salt
*1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
*1/2 cup grated Parmesan
*1/4 cup Panko or breadcrumbs
*400g ground beef
*400g ground pork
Whisk the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and Panko. Mix in the beef and pork. Gently combine all. Using about 2 tablespoons of meat for each, shape the meat mixture into meatballs into medium balls. Proper Italian meatballs should be big, I personally like them to be medium sized. Medium sized meatballs you will get 20-30 meatballs. Place on a baking sheet and bake 375' for 30 minutes.
Tomato Sauce
Prepare Tomato sauce while meatballs are baking:
* 1 can diced tomatoes
* 1 medium onions, finely chopped
* 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1 tbs. of basil
* 1 tsp of salt
* 1 tsp black pepper
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 cup of finely chopped parsley.
* 1 tsp tomato paste
* 2 tbs of sugar
* 1 cup of finely chopped basil
Cook onions and garlic in oil in a pot over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes with juice reserved in a separate bowl. Simmer sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and half of the reserved liquid until sauce reduces for 5 minutes. I like to get a hand blender and blend my sauce for a minute so its chunky, but mostly a smooth pasta sauce. *Add basil at the end for garnish and parmesan cheese
Putting it all together:
Cook a 1 lb box of spaghetti to al dente, drain, and plate it. Place a few spoonfuls of sauce on top of the noodles followed by a couple tablespoons of butter and grated cheese. Place a meatball on top and serve.
Labels: Eats
