Italian
Spagetti and Meatballs
From the Kitchen of Michael Murphy
1
gallon of peeled plum tomatoes
2
large green peppers, diced
2
large onions, diced
2
to 8 large cloves of garlic sliced with a razor blade to 1 molecule in
thickness.
Dried
Italian bread (Italian breadcrumbs may be substituted, but spring for a decent
name brand)
Parmesan
cheese
Romano
cheese
Mushrooms, if desired.
Oregano
Parsley
Thyme
Rosemary
Basil
Bay
Leaves
(Mixed
Italian Seasoning may be substituted for everything but the Bay Leaves, but
spring for a decent name brand)
1
large egg
1
pound very lean chopped beef
˝ pound hot Italian sausage
˝ pound Italian sweet sausage (Real NY Italian
Sweet Sausage), not the PA “make believe” stuff.
2
or 3 small cans of tomato paste
olive
oil
Sauce
Fry
sausage in a little olive oil on low heat until golden brown in the pot you are
going to cook your sauce in. Pour off excess oil and remove the sausage,
setting it aside.
Add
the tomatoes to the pot and simmer on a low heat, mashing the tomatoes and
stirring constantly being sure to get the sausage dripping off the pot bottom.
After
the tomatoes have cooked down a little, add the tomato paste and bring to a
simmer. Remove 2 cups of sauce and set aside.
Fry
the diced onions, green peppers (and sliced mushrooms) until golden brown in a
frying pan with a little olive oil. Add the garlic and stir for an additional
minute.
Take
1/3 of the mixture and set aside putting the remaining mixture into the sauce
pot along with the cooked sausage.
Add
meat balls.
Cook
on a low, low heat and stir often until the flavors marry. Add some grated
chesses.
Burn
it and ALL your hard work is for naught.
Meatballs
Mix
ground beef with egg, Italian seasonings, some grated cheeses, the remaining
pepper and onion mixture, and some of the sauce you set aside. Add small
amounts at a time until it “looks right”. Too little spices and cheese is
better than too much. Add some bread crumbs until it is workable and able to
hold the shape of meet balls. Not too much, add a little at a time.
Make
the meat balls and fry in olive oil on a low heat until brown. Add the meat
balls to the sauce. Ladle some sauce into the frying pan and scrap up the beef
off the bottom. Add this all to the sauce. (This why we use very lean beef.)
Spaghetti
If
I don’t have time to make my own, Barilla is my favorite brand. You can’t kill
it. Otherwise, follow the directions on the box to cook. Add a little salt and
olive oil to the water. After it is done, strain in a colander, rinse and put
back into pot. Add a couple ladles of sauce and cook on a medium heat stirring
constantly until the sauce is “absorbed” into the spaghetti. This is very
important and should not be overlooked. This is what separates the Italian
cooks from the “wannabe’s”.