Spaghetti and meatballs in a tomato sauce with basil

Comfort food for a bitterly cold day…  For the this dish, I pulled recipes from 2 different books. The meatballs are a modified version of Carlos Horrillo and Patrick Morcas‘ take. The tomato sauce is the famous tomatada by David Leite  I use ever so often.

Spaghetti and meatballs in a tomato sauce with basil

Ingredients for the meatballs

• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 500g ground beef and pork
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried persil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• Salt and pepper freshly ground
• Olive oil to taste
• Flour as needed

Ingredients for the tomato sauce

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions cut in half lengthwise and sliced into thin half moons
• 2 springs fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 garlic gloves minced
• 1 kg very ripped tomatoes, seeded and chopped* (or a couple of canned tomato, preferably san marzano, chopped, juices reserved).
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of double concentrated tomato paste, to taste
• 1 small fresh medium red hot chilli pepper, such as Serrano, stemmed, seeded and chopped (it optional. Sometimes, I just add a few drops of piri piri sauce).
• Freshly grounded salt and black pepper to taste.
• Fresh basil

Method

Heat the stove the 190 oC (=375 oF).

Place a large heavy base, non stick frying pan on a low heat with 2 dashes of olive oil. Add the sliced onions, a pinch of salt and pepper then sauté gently until soft and tender. When it is done add the minced garlic and let it fry for a 1 minute more.  Set aside to cool.

In a bowl combine the meat with the herbs, the eggs and the caramelised onion. Once the mix has aggregated, roll the  meatballs with your hands. Roll them in flour so all the surface is coated.

Place a large heavy base, non stick frying pan on a low heat with 2 dashes of olive oil. Gently brown the meatballs, about 5min, adding more olive oil if needed. Reserve the frying pan.

Place the meatballs in a baking tray coated with olive oil and put it in the stove for about 30min or until they feel solid.

In the meanwhile, start the tomato sauce. Use the frying where you browned the meatball. Add more oil if necessary, and heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the onions, parsley and bay leaf and cook until nicely golden, about 15min. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min more.

Turn the heat to medium low, stir in the tomatoes and their juices, the tomato paste and chilli pepper, if using. Bring to a simmer, cook, lid ajar, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down, about 30min.

Once the tomato sauce is done and the meatballs are out of the stove, you will need to combine both. Just drop gently the meatball in the frying pan, making sure the surfaces are coated. Let it simmer gently for about 20min.

In the meanwhile, boil spaghetti.  Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. If cooking dry spaghetti, use a mimimum of 500ml of water for each 100g. of dry spaghetti. Once the water is boiling, you will need to add the spaghetti. Reduce the heat so that the water is on a slow boil. Let it cook as said in the package. When ready, drain and add some olive oil to avoid sticking.

On a plate, put the spaghetti and on top the meatballs and the tomato sauce. Add a basil leaf for decoration and extra flavor.