Pasta night

For the longest time, I've always wanted to make meatball and spaghetti. I thought it would be so hard or take a long time. The first I've ever had it was at Ellie's, which was not too bad for a desi restaurant. The meatballs were gigantic though. The second time I had it was when J made it. It was so good that it made it even that much more daunting to attempt my own, fearing that it won't live up to my expectations.


But for some reason, I was craving something other than desi food so much tonight that when Mom asked me to grind the beef, I decided I would just make some meatballs to eat a meatball sub (which I thought was a better alternative to bryani, beef curry and chicken curry once again). So I set to work, got the recipe that J used, spun my own twists to it (mostly because I ended up not having the ingredients lol), and went to work. Surprisingly, it tasted pretty well to me. A and M1 approved as did Mom so I guess I can count this as a success. :D 


And, as always, I'll share the recipe with you all. Have fun!


Equipment

• Large bowl
• Food handling glove (optional, I just don't like the smell of raw meat clinging on my hands)
• Tongs (optional, I used them to turn the meatballs and take them out)
• Measuring tools (spoons and cups)
• A pot that can hot about 4-6 quart of liquid
• Oven
• Stove

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cups stale bread crumb
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Pasta & Sauce

I used a box of spaghetti and pre-made sauce

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Thoroughly mix together ground beef, egg, garlic, cheese, Italian seasoning, black pepper and salt. Mix bread crumbs until evenly distributed. Then, add water little by little until the mixture is moist and can hold the shape of small balls. 
• Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Roll meatballs loosely about the size of a golf ball and place on baking sheet. Place into preheated oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes, turning them half way through. 
• Make pasta according to the box's direction, add sauce and stir to evenly distribute the sauce into the spaghetti, then add in the meatballs.

Source 1. Source 2

Tips

• If mixture seems a little loose add more bread crumbs, but avoid adding too much or else the meatballs will be too dry
• As you will see from the sources, adding pork and veal will give it a bit of a different taste. I didn't add it because I don't eat pork and I couldn't find/didn't have Kosher veal.
• When I made mine, the balls were about 2-2.5 inches in diameter so it only took 30 minutes to bake them. How long it takes depends on the size of your meatballs.
• When you take them out, use a cutting utensil to check if the inside is done or not. I made sure there were no redness inside it.

-M