Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Is there a more romantic meal than Spaghetti and Meatballs? Disney made it so with its famous Lady and the Tramp candle light dinner scene. 

Not only famous, this delicious Italian meal is one of my husband's favorite, if not THE favorite. Very frequently he'll ask me to make my delicious (as he calls it) Spaghetti and Meatballs and because I love him so very much, I'll cook a huge batch for him. That for us friends, is romance! 
Love should be rejoiced daily, no need to wait for Valentine's Day. So why not celebrate it - whether with your special someone or your whole family - with Spaghetti and Meatballs... all year round? ;)

I"m sure there are hundreds of ways to make meatballs and I'm also pretty sure that originally they are fried (at least that's how my grandma does hers). But in order to make them a bit healthier, I like to bake mine. You can also substitute the ground beef for ground chicken or turkey.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Yield: 2 large portions

Level: Easy

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 400g Ground beef (medium fat)
• 3 tbsp Onion (1/6 of  a medium onion - finely chopped)
• 2 tsp Garlic (2 medium cloves - finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp Parsley (very finely chopped)
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 tsp Chilly flakes
• 2 tbsp Breadcrumbs 
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Pasta & Sauce

• 250g Dried Pasta (or homemade pasta)
• 500g Homemade Tomato Sauce 
• 1 tbsp Parsley (chopped for the sauce)
• 1 tbsp Basil (chopped for the sauce)

In a bowl, add all the meatball ingredients, with exception of the ground beef, and mix them together. Then add the ground beef and break it with your fingers, incorporating the seasoning at the same time. Careful, you don't want to knead the mixture but simply combine everything together. 

Meatballs

Form little balls, placed them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them in a 375 F (190 C) oven for 15 minutes. 

In the meantime, prepare (or heat) your tomato sauce and set a large pot of salted water to boil. 

Once the meatballs have baked add them in the pot with the tomato sauce and cook everything together for another 10 minutes. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions or follow the cooking instructions for fresh pasta. 

When pasta is al dente, I like to add it to the sauce pan and cook it a minute longer with the sauce. I find this helps the sauce cling better to the pasta. At the end add the chopped parsley and basil.  

Voilá! Enjoy a romantic dinner with your love or family! :)

Tips:
- You can use an ice cream scoop to size the meatballs. This way they will all have similar sizes. 

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