Meatballs and Marinara

Marinara

Prep: 15 minutes

Active: 60 minutes

Cook: 3-4 hours

Yield: around 1 quart

Ingredients

• 28 oz peeled San Marazano tomatoes; the remaining ingredients may be scaled according to number cans used

• 100 g Spanish yellow onion, diced

• 50 g peeled carrot, diced

• 50 g trimmed celery stalks, diced

• 3 large cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

• Calabrian chillies, approximately the same amount as garlic, finally diced

• 15 mL tomato paste

• 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

• 250 mL stock

• 125 mL red wine

• (Optional) Basil stems

• (Optional) Parmesan rinds

• (Optional) MSG

Steps

1. To a food processor, pulse the diced carrots a few times before adding the diced onion and celery and doing the same until a fine mince is observed; the carrots need a head start because they contain relatively little water.

2. Make the soffrito: On medium-high heat, sweat the vegetables in as little neutral oil as possible while stirring occasionally. Lower the heat to medium as soon as liquid is no longer observed (this may be accompanied by a noticeably "frying" sound). Increase the rate of stirring until a fond just starts to develop. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the fond persists at that temperature. Repeat these steps until the fond can no longer be scraped with a wooden spoon at the lowest temperature, or until the onions caramelized to a dark brown color, whichever comes first; the total process may take upwards of 30-45 minutes. Reserve the soffritto and deglaze the pot if necessary.

3. Add enough cooking olive oil to the pot to cover the bottom in a thin layer. To the cold oil, add the sliced garlic and chopped chillies along with a pinch of salt, and a couple optional basil stems that have been lightly smashed with the back of a knife. Stir occasionally while bringing the temperature up to medium-low. The garlic will begin to appear golden as it fries and develop a crunchy texture. Remove the basil stems.

4. Add the soffritto back to the pot along with the tomato paste. Stir constantly for a few minutes until the tomatoes begin to caramelize. Add the italian seasoning while continuing to stir constantly for another minute. Add the tomatoes in and rinse the can 2-3 times into the pot with as little stock as possible, by swirling perhaps as little as 60 mL with each rinse (if using multiple cans of tomatoes, the rinse may be transferred between each can). Add the wine, season with a little salt and cracked black pepper.

5. Bring the sauce to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to a simmer for approximately 10 minutes before smashing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Add 1-2 optional parmesan rinds and turn the heat to low, simmering 2-3 hours while stirring every 30 minutes. The volume may be maintained with remaining stock or additional wine (don't forget to occasionally scrape the dried sauce down the sides of the pot).

6. Remove the cheese rinds before optionally blitzing all or some of the sauce, in a blender or in the pot with a stick blender. Adjust the desired consistency by either allowing to reduce on low heat or adding stock or wine. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir in optional MSG (especially in lieu of cheese rinds and/or in interest of additional umami flavor).

   
   

Meatballs

Prep: 15 minutes

Active: 20 minutes

Bake: 25-30 minutes

Yields: about 45 meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1/2 pound ground lamb

• 1/2 pound ground pork

• 1 3/4 cup bread crumbs

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 cup each of freshly grated Pecorino and Parmesan cheeses

• 2-3 garlic cloves, grated or crushed

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 3/4-1 cup marinara, or to taste and desired level of hydration in your meatballs

Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray

2. Mix ground beef, lamb, and pork together in a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, cheeses, and garlic together.

4. Add the breadcrumb mixture to the ground meat mixture, then add in the egg and marinara. Mix together until just combined. Don’t over mix, or this will make the meatballs more tough.

5. Break off a small piece of the mixture and fry in a pan. This is to taste that the mixture is seasoned to your liking before you make the whole batch.

6. Measure out even portions of the mixture (these meatballs were 40 grams each, but it’s to your preference. Just make sure they are all the same size so they cook evenly.) and roll each lightly into a ball. Place one inch apart on the prepared sheet pans.

7. Bake the meatballs for 25-30 minutes, flipping them over halfway through. They should reach an internal temperature of 160-165 degrees F.

   
   

Serve Up:

If using fresh pasta, boil for 2-3 minutes. If using dried pasta, boil 1-2 minutes less than directed. Warm the marinara and the meatballs in a separate pan. Remove the meatballs to a plate when they are heated through.

When the pasta is ready, transfer directly to the pan with the marinara. Stir the pasta in the sauce over medium heat and add some of the pasta water to thicken the sauce and continue cooking the pasta until al dente.

Serve up the pasta, marinara and meatballs on a place and top with grated Parmesan and fresh basil leaves.