Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (and Pasta): Sunday Dinner

Sizzling balls!

On the previous post, I mentioned that Sunday lunch at home is always like a thanksgiving feast. My mom puts such an effort in cooking when everyone's home that she tires herself out by the afternoon. That's the time I'll be taking over the kitchen and giving our house helpers a headache with the mess I'll be leaving behind. Hehe...

One of my favorite things to cook is pasta. I love pasta! It's so easy to make too. Just cook the pasta in boiling water, drain. Toss in extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic and herbs, then top with parmesan cheese. Yum!

Well, I wish it was that way with the rest of the family. Since the rest of the family are hearty eaters, they demand  something heavier than just olive oil and garlic. They need meat. This Sunday, they wanted meatballs.

I love watching Rachael Ray 30-minute Meals because everything seems so easy. She loves eyeballing measurements on her ingredients and has a carefree spunk about her. A year or so ago, I was watching one of her episodes where she was cooking spaghetti and meatballs. I didn't really write down what she said, but the main ingredients I remember. Overtime I would concoct my own version of meatballs and pasta sauce. The recipe isn't really a constant, depends on what ingredients are available; and like Rachael Ray, I just eyeball ingredients and rely on my tongue. But let me give you a standard recipe, you can edit it along the way. :)

Linguine and meatballs. Molto delizioso!

MEATBALLS AND PASTA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

*Cook 500g of desired pasta according to package direction.

Meatballs:

*makes about 2 dozen medium sized meatballs

2 cups ground lean beef

5 well-toasted wheat bread slices, cubed

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp ground oregano

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp ground pepper

olive oil for frying

Pasta Sauce:

extra virgin olive oil for sauteeing

1 large white onion chopped

1 canned diced tomatoes

6 cloves garlic chopped

1 beef cube dissolved in 1 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tbsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese

PROCEDURE

1. In a blender-grinder attachment, grind together cubed toasted wheat bread, coriander seeds, oregano, basil and pepper until it becomes fine breadcrumbs.

2. In a bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs and egg. Use hands to mix the meat well. Form into balls and pat with paper towels to dry a bit  (this will help the meat brown well)

3. Cook raw meatballs in a large frying pan with olive oil. Set aside meatballs in a plate.

4. In the same pan, remove darkened oil and replace with fresh olive oil. Sautee onions until translucent. Add garlic and spices, continue sauteeing until aromatic. Then add canned tomatoes, water with beef cube and tomato paste, simmer for a few minutes in medium heat. Stir well to avoid scorching the bottom of the pan, add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Place cooked meatballs into the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour on cooked pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Whew. It has been a long day and I'm exhausted as well. Good thing there's still some Buko Pandan Salad left especially for yours truly. :)