| Spaghetti | |||||||||||
| All right, right up front, dear readers, this dish takes FOREVER to make, but oh is it worth it. The sauce is a deep, dark rich red brown with a big intensity of flavor. The meatballs are slightly spicy and the best I have ever tasted. If you’ve never actually made a recipe from this column, try this. It is very likely to become one of your special event recipes. This takes the better part of a day to make, but it makes 2 1/2 to 3 quarts of sauce and eighteen meatballs and it freezes well, so you can get two to three meals out of the recipe. Don’t try to rush the sautéing part, the vegetables and the tomato paste will take nearly 45 minutes to develop the right flavor and color and the meatballs need a thick brown crust to survive the final cooking intact.
Sue Kleber |
|||||||||||
| The Sauce 2 cups diced yellow onion 3 TB olive oil 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper 1/2 cup finely minced carrot 1/2cup minced celery 6 oz. can tomato paste 4 cloves garlic, put thru a press or minced 1 TB Mexican oregano, crushed (measure after crushing) 1 tsp. thyme 1/2 tsp. marjoram |
|||||||||||
| 1 bay leaf 1/2 tsp. black pepper 3 tsp. kosher salt, divided pinch red pepper flakes 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in puree 2 14 1/2 oz. cans diced tomatoes in juice 1 tsp. sugar 1 cup sturdy red wine 1 cup water as needed |
|||||||||||
| Over medium heat, sauté onions in olive oil for 10 minutes. Add green pepper, celery, and carrot and one teaspoon of salt and sauté for 15 minutes. Do not let the vegetables brown. Add garlic and tomato paste and continue to sauté. The paste will eventually turn a lovely medium brown and smell wonderful. Add oregano, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, black pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant. Add tomatoes, sugar, wine, water and the final 2 teaspoons salt. Simmer gently while you make the meatballs, adding water as needed to maintain the consistency you like. | |||||||||||
| The Meatballs 12 oz. tube Jimmy Dean hot sausage 1 lb. 80% lean hamburger 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese 1 egg 1/2 tsp. thyme 1 tsp. oregano 1/2 tsp. salt (the cheese adds salt) |
|||||||||||
| 1/2 tsp. black pepper 3 cloves garlic, pressed 1/2 cup finely minced shallot or onion 1/4 cup minced Italian parsley 3 slices firm white bread milk to moisten olive oil |
|||||||||||
| Put all ingredients, except the bread and milk in a bowl. Put the bread in a bowl and moisten with milk and squeeze out the excess milk and add the bread to the other ingredients. Mix very thoroughly. Mixture will stiffen the longer you mix. Divide the mixture into 1/4 cup balls. (An ice cream scoop is handy for this job) Very slowly sauté the meatballs in olive oil. You want a deep brown crust on all surfaces of the meatballs to ensure that they don’t fall apart when they are simmered in the tomato sauce. Use one very large skillet or two medium-sized for the sauté. If the meatballs are crowded, they won’t brown properly. When the meatballs resemble little brown hockey pucks, add them to the tomato sauce and simmer gently for 45 minutes, adding water as necessary. |
|||||||||||
|
Courtesy of:
|
|||||||||||
|
Real Estate & Living
|
|||||||||||
|
www.somocorealestate.com
|
|||||||||||