Gourmet ~ January 2009 ~ Spaghetti & Meatballs

As a tribute to Gourmet I thought I would find one of my favorite recipes. This recipe is the closest that I have ever found to my Nana's meatballs. All of my Nana's recipes are on crumpled pieces of paper with words like "little" of this & a "dash" of that & "feeds 20."

With the cooler weather this is the perfect crowd pleaser. Enjoy.

Serves12 to 16

Active time:2 hr Start to finish:3 hr

For tomato sauce:

6 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes in juice (preferably San Marzano)

2 medium onions, chopped

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

For meatballs:

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

10 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 cups torn day-old Italian bread

3 cups whole milk

6 large eggs

2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/4 lb)

1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped oregano or 1 tsp dried, crumbled

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 1/2 lb ground veal

1 1/2 lb ground pork

1 1/2 lb ground beef (not lean)

1 cup olive or vegetable oil

For pasta: 2 lb dried spaghetti

Accompaniment:grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Equipment: a 12- to 16-qt nonreactive heavy pot or 2 smaller nonreactive pots; a 6- to 8-qt pasta pot with a pasta/steamer insert for cooking spaghetti in 2 batches

Make sauce: Drain tomatoes, reserving juice in a large bowl. Crush tomatoes with your hands and add to juice.Cook onions in oil in pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, 4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Simmer sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season with salt.

Make meatballs while sauce simmers: Cook onions in extra-virgin olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl to cool.Soak bread in milk in another bowl until soft, about 5 minutes. Firmly squeeze bread to remove excess milk, discarding milk.Stir together cooled onion mixture, bread, eggs, parmesan, parsley, oregano, lemon zest, 5 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 1/2 tsp pepper until combined. Add meats to bread mixture, gently mixing with your hands until just combined (do not overmix). Form meat mixture into about 70 (1 1/2-inch) balls with dampened hands, arranging meatballs on 2 large baking sheets or in shallow baking pans.Heat olive or vegetable oil (1 cup) in a 12-inch heavy skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown meatballs in 4 or 5 batches (without crowding), turning frequently, about 5 minutes per batch. Return to baking sheets.Add meatballs to sauce and gently simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes. (If pot is not large enough, divide meatballs and sauce between 2 pots.)

Prepare pasta: Cook spaghetti in 2 batches in pasta insert in boiling salted water (3 Tbsp salt for 6 qt water) until just al dente, draining and tossing each batch with some of sauce in a large serving dish. Serve with meatballs, remaining sauce, and grated cheese.

Cooks’ notes: Meatballs can be made and simmered in sauce 5 days ahead and chilled (covered once cool).Meatballs with sauce can be frozen in an airtight container or heavy-duty sealable bags up to 3 months.

{Recipe by Maggie Ruggiero & Photograph by John Kernick}