I go on cooking jags where I'll cook the same thing a lot. Sometimes it's a specific food and sometimes it's a type of food. There was a period where I made zucchini pancakes constantly, and an entire summer I made chicken on the grill with a ginger-soy-sake marinade. There was a cheesecake period which Mike speaks wistfully of, and a long rapini period that Mike's afraid I'm going to fall back into. Last spring I had a big stir-fry binge. Lately it's been lots of Tuscan kale.
Sometimes I don't really come back to whatever I was cooking -- I now only do cheesecakes once or twice a year for the holidays -- and sometimes it's something that becomes part of my regular cooking routine like stir-frying or rapini.
This past fall one of my big things to do has been spaghetti and meatballs -- a meal I've never been that interested in up to now but it is the kind of thing Mike likes and I think I've been caught up in it. There's something about spaghetti and meatballs that's festive and light-hearted. This is the sort of food that you serve at kid's birthday parties. In fact, spaghetti and meatballs are something that children are supposed to love -- every restaurant that has a special kid's menu seems to include it.
I first made this last spring, and then didn't make again until early this summer when Mike had decided to build a patio the week before we were having a big party. He and his friend Joe worked feverishly digging and tamping and laying bricks and when they'd finished I made this. I noticed that it made Mike happy. He was enthusiastic when I told him we were having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.
In fact, he is usually enthusiastic when I make it. And when I brought some over to my parents, they too were enthusiastic. I don't want to oversell it here, but I do have to say I'm fond of this. And because the recipe started life as a recipe from The Best Light Recipe and I haven't done much to add back calories other than using a little more olive oil for browning the meatballs than the original recipe called for, I am comforted by the fact that this is a relatively healthy meal. In fact, all that tomato sauce is downright good for you. I know you'd never realize it from reading much of what I write but yes, I do give some thought to that kind of thing.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
2 slices high-quality sandwich bread, crusts discarded and cut into 1/4 inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons buttermilk or 1 1/2 tablespoons yogurt mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 pounds 93% lean turkey
1 ounce (about 1/2 cup) grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil
Tomato Sauce (I use this recipe but this one would also work.)
1 pound spaghetti
Fresh, minced parsley for garnish
1. Combine the bread, buttermilk, and egg yolk in a large bowl. When bread softens, about 5 minutes, mash mixture to a smooth paste. Add the turkey, 1/2 cup parmesan, parsley, minced garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Combine the mixture until uniform then form into meatballs. I usually end up with between 25 and 30. Place the meatballs on a plate, cover, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
2. Heat the oil in a 12" skillet until just smoking. Add enough meatballs to form a single layer without crowding. Cook until brown on all sides. Remove to plate. (The meatballs will not have finished cooking at this point but they will finish cooking while simmering in the tomato sauce when all the meatballs have browned.) Rrepeat with the remaining meatballs.
3. Add tomato sauce to the skillet and bring to a simmer, scraping to get any browned bits off the bottom. Add a good pinch of red pepper flakes to the tomato sauce. Taste the sauce. You may want to add a pinch of sugar also. Return the meatballs to the skillet and simmer until cooked through, about 10 more minutes.
4. While the meatballs are simmering, cook the pasta. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water, the return the pasta to the pot. Stir several ladlefuls of sauce without meatballs into the pasta along with enough of the reserved pasta water to keep the sauce loose. Divide the sauced pasta among the plates, add meatballs and additional sauce, sprinkle with minced parlsey, and serve.
serves 5 or 6
Note: I almost always buy turkey in a 1.25 size package and use that with no other scaling of ingredients. It seems to work fine.
That reads like healthy and very tasty. I use a lot of the hot Italian turkey sausage I get at Whole Foods. I think that might be excellent in these. Haven't gotten myself up yet to try my new pasta machine.
Posted by: Tanna | December 06, 2006 at 05:17 PM
Ha! I had a cheesecake period too! My boyfriend at the time was doing the low-carb thing and almost every night I'd whip up a crustless cheesecake with Splenda. Cheesecakes sort of lost their magic after baking and eating one every night.
This recipe sounds so comforting now that it's finally getting cold. And I love Lidia Bastianich's tomato sauce recipe--it's been a staple of mine for years! So simple yet so tasty!
Posted by: Homesick Texan | December 06, 2006 at 08:53 PM
I like the idea of using buttermilk!
Posted by: rachel | December 07, 2006 at 09:39 AM
My mother's baking ruts included hamburgers baked with liquid smoke and overly dry chicken breasts...
Yours sound much better!
Posted by: Traci | December 07, 2006 at 10:35 AM
Hey!!!! Are we separated at birth?? :) I just made my grocery list and intend to make the same dish. And I always use turkey too. (Cue the spooky Twilight Zone music). Your picture looks soooo yummy.
Posted by: sher | December 08, 2006 at 03:12 PM
There's something about a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs that always bring a smile to one's face--or at least to mine. It's one of those dishes you can tuck in and finish the meal completely satisfied.
Your recipe sounds great. I'm going to have to try it in the future.
Posted by: blue plate | December 08, 2006 at 05:46 PM
Tanna, I think hot turkey sausage would be a great addition to these. Good suggestion.
HT, I could see how cheesecake would lose its magic under those circumstances. But you have to admire a diet that includes cheesecake every night.
Rachel, the buttermilk adds a certain tanginess, although I think it would be fine to use regular milk if you didn't have buttermilk or yogurt on hand.
Traci, yikes! I get the feeling your mother is not into cooking. :-)
sher, well everything you cook looks good to me, so maybe...
blue plate, exactly my feeling. It also seems to be almost universally well-loved.
Posted by: Julie | December 11, 2006 at 11:23 AM