Spaghetti with Meatballs

Aah, spaghetti with meatballs: an American pasta dish. One cannot go wrong with this classic American pasta. According to its history, Italian immigrants to New York invented this dish in the early 20th century. In fact, they say that you rarely see spaghetti with meatballs in Italy. You can see spaghetti and meatballs, but not with.

ok, my bad. Meatballs aren't visible in this picture. :(

Here in the Philippines, however, we do our spaghetti sauce differently. We want our pasta to be on the sweeter side, and tends to be "saucy". Foreigners might be shocked to find sliced hotdogs in the Pinoy Style spaghetti. This time, I wanted to serve my bandmates a different kind of spaghetti (well, not Pinoy Style). I tried this simple recipe. (Sorry, I didn't measure all ingredients. I referenced from many recipes)

Meatballs:

1kg ground beef
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup milk
2 eggs
minced onion and garlic
salt and pepper
grated parmesan cheese
nutmeg
oregano
parsley

Sauce:

2 cups pasta sauce
2 cans of whole tomato
1 onion, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
oregano
salt and pepper

spaghetti
garlic bread


1. Make the pasta sauce first. Sauté onion and garlic until golden brown. then add the pasta sauce and tomatoes, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. When done, cover to keep it warm.

2. Make the meatballs. Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a bowl and let the crumbs absorb the milk. This will help retain moisture in the meatballs. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumb-milk mixture. Mix with hand well and form balls. (Optional, you add add cubes of cheese inside the meatballs if you like).

3. On a hot large skillet/saucepan, sear the balls until brown on all sides. When done, add sauce over the meatballs and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

4. Cook pasta al dente in hot salted boiling water.

5. Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic bread.

Happy eating! Bon appétit!