Spaghetti and Meatballs
Published January 26, 2010
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
2 slices bread, any kind, with crust
2 to 4 tablespoons chicken broth or milk
12 ounces ground turkey
12 ounces lean ground beef, preferably 85 percent lean
1 large egg
½ cup chopped parsley, more for garnish
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, more for garnish
¾ teaspoon salt, more for pasta water
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 onion, minced
7 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
69 grams carbs; 113 milligrams cholesterol; 624 calories; 11 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 25 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 10 grams fiber; 336 milligrams sodium; 36 grams protein; 7 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place bread in a large bowl and sprinkle with broth or milk until soaked. Allow to sit 5 minutes, then squeeze out and discard most of the liquid; crumble bread. Add turkey, beef, egg, ½ cup parsley, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, salt, pepper, half the onion and a third of the minced garlic. Mix well and form into golf-ball-size balls ( about 24).
- Step 2
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Sauté meatballs until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside.
- Step 3
In a large saucepan, combine remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, remaining minced onion and remaining minced garlic. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
- Step 4
Add meatballs to pan of sauce. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, and cook pasta until al dente. To serve, drain pasta and divide among four to six bowls. Top with meatballs and sauce, and garnish with parsley and Parmesan.
Private Notes
Comments
When I make these I don't cook the meatballs in a pan, I bake them in the oven at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes instead. I use parchment paper on the baking sheets to make clean up easier. This makes the cooking process much easier!
These meatballs are delicious, made exactly as specified. Except I didn't get around to making the pasta to accompany them when the grandchildren arrived, so since they were cooked through, we had them on demi baguettes, re-heated in the toaster oven adding a bit of tomato sauce and grated cheese.
I halved this and only used the beef. i didn't want to use egg so I left some more milk in the bread than I would have otherwise. It was great.
I used the same deep pan with cover for the sauce that I used to brown the meatballs, so all the good brown bits got incorporated into the sauce and there was one less pot to clean
Made as directed with the exception of using some high quality fish sauce instead of salt in the tomato sauce. It was absolutely delicious!
The meatballs turned out very well - I used 16 oz beef and 8 oz turkey. However the sauce was too thin and sparse. I used 8 oz of spaghetti not pound called for… I had to add jarred sauce I had on hand. Not quite a five star recipe.