Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs is the quintessential Italian dinner for a reason... it's just so darn good! I use ground turkey in my meatballs. Not only is it healthier, but it will give you the most tender meatball. I cook them in my homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce, but you can use a good jarred sauce or your own homemade tomato sauce.

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground black pepper

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

1 large egg, beaten

1 lb. ground turkey

3 T. vegetable oil

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 quart Roasted Tomato Sauce (or marinara)

1 lb. linguine noodles

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add onion, garic, parsley, salt, pepper, oregano, bread crumbs, egg and turkey.  Mix with your hands just until evenly combined. Do not over mix or your meatballs will get tough. Form into golf-ball size or larger. You can make these in advance and refrigerate them for up to a day, but set them out 30-60 minutes before you cook them to get the chill off.

Set a large pot of salted water over high heat to prepare for your noodles. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet that you can put a lid on. Add meatballs and turn every few minutes to brown on all sides. My trick is that when the meatball loosens from the bottom of the pan, they're ready to be rotated. 

Once meatballs are browned on all sides, remove to a clean plate. If you have more grease in the pan than what you want in your sauce, pour off any excess, but do not scrape the pan clean. Pour wine into the pan and scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add tomato sauce and mix to combine. 

Add noodles to your boiling water and cook to desired tenderness. While pasta is cooking, taste your sauce and add anything you think it needs (salt, crushed red pepper, dried oregano, etc.). If the sauce is more runny than you want, this is the time to cook it down a little or add a some tomato paste. Once the sauce is to your liking, add the meatballs back in, put the lid on and simmer for 3-5 minutes to heat the meatballs and ensure they're fully cooked through.

Drain pasta and divide among 4 bowls. Top with tomato sauce, 3-4 meatballs, and Parmesan cheese.

BEV NOTE: Chianti, but any semi-dry red wine will be good. I pick my wine out before dinner and add that to the sauce.