Matthew Griffith's Blog

Meag loves Italian food, almost to the point of wanting it every meal. For a few years it felt like that was all she would make. I commented a few times about the frequency of the pasta we would devour. She has since toned down the times we eat pasta, almost to the point of not eating it.

Meag’s cooking skills are far superior to mine, and recently she discovered a recipe for a spaghetti and meatballs. When she used to make spaghetti she would put ground meat in the sauce, it was good, but nothing like these meatballs.

There are a few key things to keep in mind when making this recipe. First, adding butter to increase the richness of the sauce is key. Second, don’t worry if you think the meatballs look burnt, that’s a good thing and don’t rinse out that pan, you want to mix the pan and those yum-yum’s on the bottom of it with the meatballs and sauce. Third, drain your pasta, you work on a sauce and meatballs this hard you don’t want it watered down. Fourth, and most important, go buy the canned crushed or whole San Marzano canned tomatoes, they are expensive ($5 per can) but SOOO worth it, in the Seattle area you can find them at Whole Foods, and I believe QFC and possibly Fred Meyer. Fifth, if you don’t have time to make the sauce, that’s too bad, but you can use a canned sauce instead and it’s still very good, just not as good.

I’m telling you right now, you could eat this off a car bumper, it’s that dang good!

(This is what ours ended up looking like. We had some blanched asparagus with it.)

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound ground dark turkey meat
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 26 ounces Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Transfer the meatball mixture to a serving bowl. Serve with toothpicks.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 4 to 6 basil leaves
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Yield: 6 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Ease of Preparation: Easy

You can find this recipe also on FoodNetwork.com