Peter's Favorite -- Spaghetti and Meatballs

My absolute favorite meal as a child was my mother’s spaghetti and meatballs. I don’t know where she learned to make this Italian-American favorite – there is no Italian heritage in her family, and she grew up in a town in the mountains of central Pennsylvania not known for having a substantial Italian-American population. Yet this recipe is reminiscent of some of the best spaghetti and meatball meals I have had at restaurants in the Little Italy section of my hometown, Wilmington, Delaware. The tomato paste gives the sauce both sweetness and depth of flavor, so there is no need to add sugar. The long simmering time creates a hearty sauce.

While I have been making my mother’s recipe for spaghetti sauce since I was in high school, her recipe for meatballs was only okay. Whenever I made them, pan fried on the stovetop, the meatballs came out looking more like cubes or pyramids than balls. And while the taste was acceptable, it wasn’t exceptional.

Then it hit me: convert my wife Kathleen’s recipe for the best-ever hamburgers to make meatballs. And instead of pan frying them, bake them in the oven. This version of meatballs is not only easier to make than my mother’s recipe – they taste much better. (Sorry Mom!)

There are other recipes for delicious tomato sauce that use fresh tomatoes and herbs. But this is still my favorite. This is also my son’s favorite, and he requests Daddy’s spaghetti and meatballs on his birthday and at least once a week.

Serves 4

Sauce
28 oz. can tomato sauce
12 oz. can tomato paste
2 small cloves (or 1 large clove) of garlic, minced
Water (enough to fill the can of tomato paste that has been emptied of its original contents)
1 ½ teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Combine the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, garlic and dried herbs in a large pot (a Dutch oven works well). Heat over medium-high heat till the sauce starts to simmer, then turn to low and simmer for one hour, being sure to stir every few minutes.

As sauce is simmering, preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Meatballs
1 egg
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound ground beef
¼ cup Italian-style bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (not the kind from the green canister; buy a block of good quality Parmesan and grate the amount you need. Trust me, it makes a difference.)

Combine the egg and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl till the eggs are slightly scrambled. Add the ground beef, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Mix lightly, but combine the ingredients thoroughly. Form the meat mixture into balls the size of a walnut. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper). Bake the meatballs in a 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

While meatballs are baking, cook the spaghetti according to package directions. (Note: if you love spaghetti, invest in an inexpensive kitchen gadget that easily measures the correct serving size. Mine is a plastic disc with holes for 1, 2, 3 and 4 servings.)

Drain spaghetti, and toss with approximately ½ cup of sauce. Serve the meatballs and the remainder of the sauce in a separate bowl.

(Note: The leftover sauce freezes well. In fact, you may want to double the sauce recipe and freeze the leftover sauce in 1 ½ - 2 cup containers. The frozen sauce can be quickly defrosted, re-heated and used as the topping for a quick meal of pasta. This sauce is much better – and more economical – than anything you can buy in a jar.)