Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients:

For meatballs:

1/2 medium onion, minced

2 medium cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup peeled, seeded and minced tomatoes

12 ounces ground beef

6 ounces ground pork

4 ounces ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup unseasoned bread crumbs

1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated

3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For sauce:

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 large onion minced

4 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes (about 6 large tomatoes)

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon salt

parsley, minced for garnish

Method:

For the meatballs, fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until tender and starting to brown. Add the tomatoes then continue frying until there is no liquid left in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, add the beef, pork, ricotta, egg, bread crumbs, parmesan, thyme, parsley, soy sauce, salt and pepper along with the tomato and onion mixture. Put some gloves on and use your hands to knead the mixture together until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Use your hands to roll the meat into 1 1/2″ balls. The mixture will be pretty loose, so if you have trouble forming it into balls, put it in the fridge for a bit to stiffen up.

Heat a frying pan up over medium high heat, then add 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry the meatballs in batches, gently rolling them around to maintain their shape until browned on all sides.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil then sauté the garlic and onions until translucent. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf and salt then bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the meatballs into the tomato sauce along with any collected juices. Turn the heat down to low and gently simmer for 1 hour.

Boil some spaghetti al dente according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, then toss the pasta together with the sauce. Plate the spaghetti, then top each serving with meatballs, minced parsley and parmesan cheese.