I make this dish a couple of times a year, usually when we have company over. Yes, it may just be spaghetti and meatballs but it’s the most delicious spaghetti and meatballs I’ve ever tasted. It’s a little more labor-intensive than my “regular spaghetti” but in all honesty, it really doesn’t take that much longer. I found this recipe about 10 years ago in my cookbook, “Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style“. It’s based on a dish served at Rao’s, a southern Italian restaurant located in East Harlem, New York City (they now have a sister restaurant in Las Vegas.)
A bit about Rao’s (the New York location)…Why is Rao’s so “special?” Well, it was founded in 1896 and is still run by family. AND Forbes writes, “It is simply the single toughest restaurant reservation to get in the United States, bar none.” The restaurant is open Monday thru Friday and closed on the weekends. There are only 10 tables and one seating a night. There’s no menus, no wine list and they only accept cash. Tables are paid for an entire year in advance like season tickets, but good luck even getting that. Just for the table (no food included), it can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000 annually, depending on who you are. There are “loose tables” around, but those are typically doled out via unlisted phone numbers. Occasionally there will be an evening available through charitable auctions. Anyway, this is where this recipe is based from.
Ina Garten says in her cookbook that this isn’t something she ate growing up so she had to do some research and used Rao’s as her inspiration. The “secret” ingredient Rao’s uses is warm water in the meatball mixture, which keeps them super moist. The ingredients aren’t that expensive, except for the veal, which I substitute ground pork for. If you want to try it with ground veal, as the original recipe calls for, I have the measurements listed in the recipe.
This is perfect for a big family dinner, impressive enough for company, takes about an hour, and feeds 6 for about $13.00. I’m thinking if you ate this at the restaurant, depending on how much you paid for a table, this could cost anywhere from a couple of thousand dollars and up. So I’m thinking $13 isn’t that bad!
REAL MEATBALLS & SPAGHETTI –
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: about an hour
Serves: 6 for approx. $13
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE MEATBALLS –
- 1 pound ground pork*
- 1 pound ground beef*
- 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
- 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 extra-large egg, beaten
- vegetable oil
- olive oil
*The original recipe calls for 1/2 pound ground veal and 1/2 pound ground pork, along with the ground beef. Ground veal was not in my budget and it can be hard to find so I omitted the veal and just doubled the pork.
FOR THE SAUCE –
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
FOR SERVING –
- 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.
Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4 inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don’t crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don’t clean the pan.
For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes:
When you cook spaghetti, don’t use oil in the water; the sauce will stick better.
When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it in a colander. If you don’t use it right away, run hot water over it and it will separate.
I served this with our Spicy Ritz Crackers and an Antipasto platter (as our first course) and then we finished up the meal with store bought Biscotti and coffee. It was a fabulous meal!