Spaghetti & Meatballs

This is a fairly traditional spaghetti and meatball - it's a long cook dish packed with tons of flavor.  It's got slow-cooked tomato and onion goodness. The meatballs can be made in advance and frozen.  

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1/2 cup Parmesan, grated and divided
• 1 egg
• 4-5 slices stale bread, any kind
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cups chardonnay or other dry white wine
• 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. spaghetti

 

Serves 6-8
Cook Time: 1 hour

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; once boiling add salt and spaghetti noodles.  Cook according to al dente according to package directions.
Cut crusts off bread and pour milk over bread to reconstitute.  Once bread had absorbed milk squeeze out excess milk.
Combine ground beef and pork, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, egg, squeezed out bread, half the parsley and half the basil.  Once combined shape into meatballs (any size you like is fine, but I prefer roughly a golfball-sized meatball).
Heat a large sauce pan over medium high heat, once heated add olive oil and pan sear meatballs on all sides.  Get a good sear on the meatballs, but do not cook them through.  When meatballs are seared on all sides remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.  Sauté onions and garlic in drippings, add extra oil if necessary.  When onions are starting to brown deglaze with wine and allow the alcohol to cook off.
Add can of tomatoes and cook down, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon as they cook.  Lower heat to medium low, add meatballs back to sauce and toss in sauce.  Cover pan with lid and allow meatballs to cook low and slow until cooked through. 
Once meatballs are cooked through remove from pan.  Drain pasta and toss in sauce and garnish with remaining chopped herbs (if you toss with the meatballs still in the sauce they will break up when tossing in the pasta).  Serve meatballs over pasta.