Spaghetti & Meatballs: The Dinner Hour Truce

Peggy Lampman | Contributor

A favorite back-to-school recipe, my family loves good-old-fashioned spaghetti and meatballs, especially when it's (sorta) made from scratch.

I used a good bottled tomato sauce (local Al Dente, preferred) and let the kids make the meatballs; their small hands make the perfect sized ball.

Time: 45 minutes Yield: 4-6

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork 1 pound ground beef 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1 large egg, beaten 1-3 tablespoons minced garlic 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh basil leaves, plus extra leaves for garnishing 1/2-1 cup grated Parmesan cheese or asiago, plus extra for grating 1 cup breadbrumbs 1-1 1/2 (36-54 ounces) good quality jarred pasta sauce 1 cup milk 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving 3/4 pound spaghetti

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. 2. Combine the pork, beef, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add egg, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1/2 cup grated cheese, breadcrumbs and chopped basil. Combine all the ingredients with your hands or with a spoon until just mixed together. Don’t overwork or the meatballs will be tough. Remove a teaspoon of the mixture and sauté in the skillet or microwave 1 minute or until cooked through. Taste meat and add additional grated cheese, basil, garlic or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. 3. Form meatballs, about the size of small golfballs. You should have about 25. Over medium heat, heat 36 ounces tomato sauce in a large-lipped large sauté pan. Whisk milk into sauce. 4. Place meatballs into tomato sauce and let simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Add additional tomato sauce to the pan if you desire. Turn meatballs and let simmer an additional 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. 5. While the meatballs are simmering, cook the spaghetti in the boiling water according to package instructions. Drain and place spaghetti onto a large serving platter or individual plates. Ladle meatballs and sauce over pasta, garnish with basil leaves and serve, passing extra Parmesan for grating.

Peggy Lampman is a real-time food writer and photographer posting daily feeds on her website and in the Food & Grocery section of Annarbor.com. You may also e-mail her at peggy@dinnerfeed.com.