Spaghetti and Meatballs

Lately, we rarely do takeouts as Hub is never happy with the quality and taste. 

Today, it’s one of those days when I am lazy to cook again and it’s also our ‘western food’ day again.  But when I think of how important it is for my growing children to eat nourishing foods so I cooked spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I made the meatballs and just used the sauce out of a jar in order to get a fast meal. It literally took me 45 minutes to make the whole thing.

My daughter is always fussy when it comes to the sauce. She likes it to be thick so it won’t run right through to the bottom when she put it on top of the noodles, she said.

 

Spaghetti and Meatballs

(Adapted from Chef Michael Smith)

Ingredients

½ cup bread crumbs

½ cup milk

2 cups ground beef

1 onion - peeled then grated on a cheese or potato grater

2 garlic cloves - finely minced

1 egg yolk

1 small bunch of parsley - chopped

½ cup grated parmesan (optional)

Salt – to taste

Pepper - to taste

Sugar – to taste

A pinch of nutmeg

Olive oil

1 small jar of Prego brand traditional spaghetti sauce (379gm)

2 canned duchef tomato puree (430gm each)

1 chicken stock cube

2 bay leaves

A sprinkle of dry oregano leaves

1 packet of spaghetti

Directions

1.    Toss the breadcrumbs into a small bowl and pour the milk over them. Stir to combine then set aside the mixture until the crumbs have absorbed all the milk.

2.    Place the ground beef into a large bowl and add the grated onion, minced garlic and egg yolk. If you like add the optional Parmesan. Add the breadcrumb mixture, nutmeg and parsley. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix well. Form into 16 small meatballs.

3.    Pre-heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot add a splash of olive oil, enough to cover the bottom. Add the meatballs. Patiently sear them until they are well browned on all sides. Transfer into a bowl. Set aside.

4.    Heat up a pot over low heat, add the spaghetti sauce and the tomato purees.  Stir in the bay leaves and a sprinkle of dry oregano leaves then season with chicken stock cube and sugar (to cut down the sourness of the sauce). Add the meatballs then cover the pan. Simmer until the meatballs have cooked through about 15 to 20 minutes.

5.    Cook the spaghetti in lots of boiling salted water, drain without rinsing and serve with the meatballs. 

Enjoy!