Food experiment #2: Meatballs & Spaghetti

A lot of my cooking seems to involve pasta. I don't particularly mind, because I adore pasta. It's quick, it's easy, it's versatile - and it's delicious, to boot! This dish was a last-minute addition to the week's list of daily menus, prompted by the impending snowstorm. A trip to the Magruder's grocery store the afternoon before the blizzard yielded slim pickings in the meat department, so I had to substitute all ground beef for the veal-pork-beef mixture recommended on the smitten kitchen blog. Here's what I did:


Meatballs and Spaghetti [6 servings]
Adapted from smitten kitchen

Meatballs
1.5 lb 80% lean ground beef
1 C bread crumbs
1/4 C grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 to 4 Tbsp heavy cream

Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp each dried basil, parsley, oregano, dried red pepper flakes
1/2 C red wine
1 large (28oz) can peeled plum tomatoes
1 small (14oz) can peeled plum tomatoes
1 can (6oz) tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 lb spaghetti, boxed

Make the meatballs: Combine all ingredients very lightly. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2- to 3-inch meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large pot to cover bottom. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil, being careful not to crowd them, and brown them well on all sides over medium to medium-low heat, turning carefully. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don’t clean the pan.

Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until most of the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. After simmering a few minutes, add tomato paste.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Serve hot on cooked spaghetti with some grated Parmesan.