Spaghettini and Meatballs

First...my Marinara sauce- no onions. Ever. 

Brown a bunch of chopped garlic, 7-10 cloves chopped in olive oil until it smells "right", usually golden brown by this time. Be parient to get the right smell. A trick is to add salt on the garlic while chopping so pieces don't hop around. 

Add chilli pepper flakes to taste.

Add 2 cans of whole  tomatoes, squish in a bowl before adding for better texture. 

Add quite a bit of salt (no sweet sauce please), medium ground pepper and Greek oregano.

Doesn’t need to cook much but needs a fairly big pot so meatballs fit in to cook through and flavour the dish.

Meatballs- in a large bowl:

Use any Meat combo you like. Beef alone, or with sweet Italian sausage. Or turkey, veal, beef, pork.  I like a beef and sweet italian sausage best, out of its casing and crumbled up with other meat. 

The key is not to overmix the meat. You want a light touch.

Add 1 egg.

Add water or milk soaked white or multi grain bread, enough so that the meat has some light moisture.

No panko or breadcrumbs... makes a dense meatball in my opinion. 

1 big bunch of chopped parsley, lots!

1 small onion, chopped finely

Big handful of parma cheese, optional

A few squirts of ketchup, makes all the difference!

A few squirts of chicken broth for flavour (Bovril is good)

Salt, pepper, and of course, Greek oregano and dried rosemary. I don't add garlic or garlic salt, enjoy that flavour in the sauce, not in the meat. 

In canola oil, brown the meatballs on both sides in a frying pan for best flavor or brown under the broiler.  They will not be fully cooked through.  Place them in the sauce pot and let simmer to cook. After a while, that simple combination of sauce and browned meat melds into a fabulously tasty affair.

This only gets better as the meatballs sit in the sauce. Unforgettable leftovers!! 

A family favorite. 

Actually, my favorite.