Spaghetti & Baked Meatballs

By ctaubenheim

Meatballs with sauce can be frozen in an airtight container or heavy duty sealable bags up to 3 months.

Ingredients

• TOMATO SAUCE:
• 6 (28oz) cans whole tomatoes in juice (preferably San Marzano)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• MEATBALLS:
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 cups torn day old Italian bread
• 3 cups whole milk
• 6 large eggs
• 2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/4lb)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped oregano or 1 tsp dried, crumbled
• 1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 lb ground veal
• 1 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 1/2 lb ground beef (not lean)
• 1 cup olive or vegetable oil

Details

Preparation time 120mins
Cooking time 180mins

Preparation

Step 1

SAUCE: Drain tomatoes, reserving juice in a large bowl. Crush tomatoes with your hands and add to juice. Cook onions in oil in pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, 4 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Simmer sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season with salt.

MEATBALLS: Cook onions in extra virgin olive oil in a 12 inc heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. Soak bread in milk in another bowl until soft, about 5 minutes. Firmly squeeze bread to remove excess milk, discarding milk. Stir together cooled onion mixture, bread, eggs, parmesan, parsley, oregano, lemon zest, 5 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 1/2 tsp pepper until combined. Add meats to bread mixture, gently mixing with your hands until just combined (do not overmix). Form meat mixture into about 70 (1 1/2 inch) balls with dampened hands, arranging meatballs on rack in broiler pan. Bake in 400 oven 17 to 19 minutes to medium (160) doneness, until not pink in center and juices show n o pink color. Serve with pasta sauce over hot cooked pasta.