That Saturday night we went to The Oarhouse in Malate, Manila, and had balbacua for dinner, the kids had spaghetti with meatballs, chicken lollipops and fries. They enjoyed the spaghetti but had one complaint–the meatballs were too big. When I announced today that we were having spaghetti with meatballs for dinner, my 11-year-old commented, “Mommy, the meatballs… not too big, please?” I said, “Sure.” What exactly is a too-big meatball? The ones they had at The Oarhouse were about three inches in diameter. The ones I made for dinner tonight were two inches in diameter. There were no complaints; just healthy appetites.
Ingredients :
225 g. of spaghetti
400 g. of ground beef (sirloin, top-round or bottom-round)
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsps. of finely minced garlic
1 tsp. of dried basil
1/2 tsp. of dried oregano
1 egg, beaten
5 c. of good beef broth
1/2 c. of chopped pimientoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 c. of tomato paste
5 tbsps. of olive oil
salt
pepper
sugar
Cooking procedure :
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Of course, if you have a pasta machine and you want to make fresh pasta, that’s even better. Cook the pasta al dente–it shouldn’t be soft. If you pinch a noodle, there must be a little resistance. When cooked, drain the pasta and keep warm.
Mix together the ground beef, basil, oregano, half of the minced garlic, beaten egg, about a teaspoonful and a half of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Mix well with your hands. Form into balls about two inches in diameter.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Cook the remaining garlic gently for about a minute. Add the chopped onions, bay leaf and pimientoes. Dissolve the tomato paste in a cup of beef broth and pour into the saucepan. Bring to a boil then pour in the rest of the broth. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a soft boil then add the meatballs one by one. When the sauce is boiling once more, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
When the meatballs are done and the sauce has been reduced, remove the meatballs from the sauce with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss well. Serve on individual plates with the meatballs on top.
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Hi connie! your site is super useful! i suddenly became inspired to cook again. i usually plan out a two-week menu for my family, and this site is a big help to me, because unlike the cookbooks, your recipes are a sure hit!
for this recipe, i never thought that it would taste so good because i was used to using the canned diced tomatoes to make my spag sauce. as for the broth, i used plain water instead because i didn’t have beef broth when i did this…and it still tasted good! thanks so much! let us know when your cookbook is coming out. ciao!
hi ms.connie,i’ve observed that you never used ready made spaghetti sauce in your recipe.actually,i haven’t tried making my own spaghetti sauce,all i do is to purchase ready made sauce then add some ingredients like sugar,pepper,i also add tomato paste,condense milk and nestle cream,i even add sprite.my mothewr-in-law cooked spaghetti with liver spread.does it really taste good if you make your own sauce?maybe i’ll try.
You know, I wouldn’t bother making my own sauce if the ready-made ones were good. Besides, I don’t like extenders.
thanks for the comment ms.connie i’ll definitely try to make spaghetti sauce.