Whenever I am asked what I’d like my last meal to be I always say the same thing, “spaghetti and meatballs.” It is such a comforting food for me and one that I make often because my family just loves it!
I don’t usually use an exact recipe - it’s more an idea of things that I dump into the pot, simmer for a long time, then place on top of boiled noodles. If it is summer and I have lots of beautiful fresh tomatoes I will chop those up and use them in place of canned. Sometimes I put everything in the crockpot before work and get to come home to the aroma of warmth and comfort.
Over the years, I’ve been given recipes for spaghetti sauce and they range from the simple to the complex. In the photos here you will see a typed copy of my oldest friends mom’s spaghetti sauce recipe. She grew up in a very traditional Italian home where they often referred to spaghetti sauce as “gravy.” That was confusing to this American southerner!
The first time I remember eating with her family was like visiting a foreign country! So different and so unusual and so not-like-I-was-used-to. In my house, spaghetti noodles with sauce were a main dish, in hers it was a side dish served alongside a big piece of meat, like a chuck roast. It was fascinating and delicious to this kid who had never been outside of her southern neighborhood!
Here’s a spaghetti sauce/Sunday gravy recipe that I hope you and your family will enjoy. And please try my friends mom’s version too! You will not be disappointed!
Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
For the sauce:
½ cup of olive oil
1 cup of chopped onion
2 shredded carrots
3 cloves of smashed garlic
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs of fresh oregano, chopped
2-28 ounce cans of chopped tomatoes
Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil until almost cooked. Add the garlic and cook a few more minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer at least an hour. Taste for salt and pepper.
For the meatballs:
¾ of a pound each of veal, ground chuck, and pork
½ cup of bread crumbs
¼ cup of grated Romano cheese
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup of finely chopped onion
½ cup of chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of oregano
¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
Mix all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl by hand.
Form into meatballs and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the meatballs.
Remove from the oven and transfer them to the simmering sauce.
Serve meatballs and sauce over your choice of pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
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