Italian Meatballs and Sauce by frick

[BakerAunt]

Italian Meatballs & Sauce
Submitted by frick

It's a great meatball but an even greater sauce, supple and rich and so very easy.
Yield: 6
Source: Bon Appetit, October, 2010
Prep: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Six Main Course Servings For the best texture, don’t overwork the meat mixture and use Parmesan that’s ground to a fine powder (use the processor or the rasp side of a box grater). For more heat, add ½ to ¾ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper to the sauce.

SAUCE
2 28-ounce cans tomatoes in juice, tomatoes finely chopped
(I used 1 28-oz can & 2 14.5-oz cans ready cut, plus all the juice)
½ cup (l stick ) unsalted butter (I used salted)
2 medium onions, peeled, halved through the root end
½ teaspoon (or more) salt
Note: there is no black pepper in the sauce, I added at least a teaspoon, and some red pepper flakes.

MEATBALLS
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French or country-style bread
1/3 cup whole milk (I used 2%)
8 ounces ground beef (15% fat)
8 ounces ground pork
1 cup Parmesan cheese (I used Romano, flavorful and less expensive)
1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
1 teaspoon salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1 large garlic cloves, finely minced
1 pound spaghetti
Additional cheese for serving

SAUCE
Combine tomatoes with juice, butter, onions and salt in large wide pot.

Bring to simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Discard onions. Using immersion blender, process sauce briefly to break up any large pieces of tomato. Texture should be even but not completely smooth. Season sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper if desired. Remove from heat.

MEATBALLS
Combine breadcrumbs and milk in small bowl; stir until breadcrumbs are evenly moistened. Let stand 10 minutes.

Place beef and pork in large bowl and break up into small chunks. Add cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

Whisk eggs in small bowl and add garlic. Add to meat mixture.

Using hands, squeeze milk from breadcrumbs, reserving milk. Add breadcrumbs to meat mixture. Using hands, quickly and gently mix all ingredients just until evenly combined. Chill at least 15 minutes and up to one hour.

Moisten hands with some of the reserved milk, and gently form golf-ball size balls. Arrange meatballs in single layer in sauce. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 15-20 minutes. These and sauce may be made up to 2 days ahead.

Spaghetti: Omitting directions for cooking of spaghetti.

Using slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to platter. Add cooked spaghetti to sauce in pot, tossing to coat. Divide pasta among 6 plates, topping with meatballs. Serve with Parmesan or Romano cheese.

** Grocery store ground pork in my area is very fatty so I bought a pork shoulder and ground it myself to control the fat content. I should have asked the butcher to grind it for me. If your pork is very fatty, you might consider pre-frying or baking the meatballs before simmering them in the sauce.

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