My first recipe for spaghetti with meatballs was published on May 10, 2005 after dinner at a pub called The Oarhouse in Malate, a hang-out for photographers, journalists, writers and expats. We ordered spaghetti with meatballs there, I liked it and did a home cooked version a few days later. That recipe is on page two of this entry. I’m posting a new recipe for spaghetti with meatballs to celebrate the soon-to-be-announced re-opening of The Oarhouse which is now owned and managed by my good friend, photo-journalist Ben Razon.
The meatballs for this pasta dish is a mixture of ground beef, spicy sausage meat and chorizo Pamplona. Very flavorful as the spiciness of the sausage meat and the smoky flavors of the chorizo Pamplona mixed into the sauce. The sauce itself is thick and chunky — made with fresh tomatoes, onions and garlic.
Ingredients
- 300 to 350 g. of spaghetti, cooked al dente
For the meatballs:
300 g. of finely ground beef
300 g. of spicy sausage (any variety although I don’t recommend sweet sausage)
150 g. of Spanish chorizo (I used Pamplona but Bilbao will be wonderful too)
1 large onionFor the sauce:
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 k. of onions
1 k. of plump juicy tomatoes
2 to 3 pimientos
5 to 6 tbsps. of olive oil
3/4 to 1 c. of good quality meat broth
leaves from 4 sprigs of fresh oregano
salt
pepper, optional
sugar, to balance the acidity of the tomatoes
Instructions
Press the spicy sausages to force the meat off the casings. Discard the casings.
Dice the chorizo and onion. Put in the food processor and grind. You can do this by hand but Spanish chorizo that had been smoked and dried is too much for my chopping skills.
In a bowl, mix together the ground beef, sausage meat, and processed chorizo and onion. No need to add salt and pepper. That comes later.
Form into two-inch balls. Set aside.
Dice then finely chop the garlic, onions, pimientos and tomatoes. I did this in a food processor for convenience.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add the chopped vegetables and cook over high heat, stirring often, until a bit softened.
Add the oregano leaves. Pour in the broth. Season with salt and a bit of sugar. Pepper is optional because of the spicy sausage meat.
Bring the sauce to the boil.
Drop the meatballs into the boiling sauce. When all the meatballs are in and the sauce is boiling once more, lower the heat, cover and simmer for at least 45 minutes. Do not stir during the first 15 minutes of simmering to avoid breaking the meatballs. You can stir the sauce when the meatballs are firm and partially cooked. That usually takes about 15 minutes.
After 45 minutes (an hour is better), the meatballs will have shrunk and the vegetables will have liquefied. If the sauce appears thin, turn up the heat to medium and boil the sauce, uncovered, until thickened. It’ll take anywhere from five to 10 minutes.
Adjust the seasonings before serving.
To serve, place some cooked pasta in a bowl. Ladle some of the chunky sauce over the noodles and top with the meatballs. Sprinkle with grated cheese and some parsley and dig in.
Cooking time (duration): about an hour
Number of servings (yield): 4 to 5
Meal type: supper
The older spaghetti with meatballs recipe is on page two.
Pages: 1 2
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.