Our Favorite Spaghetti and Meatballs - No, It's Not My Family's Ragu With Cheddar Cheese

The collective editorial minds at Epicurious scoured their library of Spaghetti and Meatball recipes for the All Time Greatest So You Don't Have To! The recipe they settled on is very good, even better in my humble opinion than Cook's Illustrated version of Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs for a Crowd. In that version, the biggest difference is the meatball recipe, which includes buttermilk and proscuitto, but no veal. In this version, the Grand Trinity of meatloaf mixtures is used: beef, pork and veal.

Not autentico.

Growing up, in a single-earner, blue collar family, meals were economical out of necessity. We occasionally got spaghetti, but back then it was with jarred sauce. There weren't a lot of options in the 60s and 70s. Ragu had been around since the late 30s, and Prego hit the market in the 70s, but the family Go To was established by then as Ragu. Dad would brown a pound of ground round, throw the sauce on top, and top it with cheddar or Colby cheese. Autentico? Not so much.

Ya shove in all your sausage and your meatballs.

The recipe makes a lot of sauce, much more than necessary for one pound of pasta. I froze half the sauce and meatballs without the pasta. Colonel Mustard did the honors with the browning of the meatballs. We served this with some Chianti (hold the liver and fava beans) and a green salad. And watched The Godfather.

Clemenza: Mikey, why don't you tell that nice girl you love her? I love you with all-a my heart, if I don't see-a you again soon, I'm-a gonna die.

Mangia!

RECIPE: OUR FAVORITE SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Adapted from Epicurious

Abbondanza!

INGREDIENTS

For the tomato sauce:

½ cup olive oil

12 garlic cloves, peeled

4 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes
1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 dried bay leaves

2 tsp kosher salt

1 ½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp freshly ground pepper

2/3 cup (packed) basil leaves

For the meatballs:

1 cup roughly torn day-old Italian bread

1 cup whole milk

8 ounces ground beef

8 ounces ground pork

8 ounces ground veal

3 large eggs, beaten to blend

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 ¼ cups grated Parmesan, divided

¾ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley, divided

1 tsp kosher salt, plus more

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp ground fennel seeds

1 tsp red pepper flakes

¼ cup olive oil

1 pound spaghetti

PREPARATION

Make the tomato sauce:

Heat a large, wide pot over medium-low and add oil and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden brown on all sides (if it starts to burn, reduce heat), 8–10 minutes. While garlic cooks, break up tomatoes into smaller pieces with a paring knife or kitchen shears. When garlic is almost ready, add red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, oregano, and pepper and stir, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon, until well combined.

Increase heat slightly and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and flavors have concentrated, at least 2 hours and up to 3 hours.

Meanwhile, make the meatballs:

Place bread in a medium bowl, add milk, and let rest until moistened, about 5 minutes. Squeeze bread with your hands to remove excess milk, discarding milk. Tear bread into smaller, pea-size pieces and return to the medium bowl.

Combine beef, pork, veal, eggs, garlic, 1 cup Parmesan, ½ cup parsley, 1 tsp. salt, oregano, pepper, fennel, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Using your hands, gently mix in bread until ingredients are evenly distributed (do not overmix).

Fill a small bowl with cool water. Moisten your hands and roll meat mixture between palms into golf-ball-sized balls, occasionally moistening hands as needed. Place meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet-you should have about 24-and chill until sauce is ready.

Finish the sauce and cook the meatballs and pasta:

After 2–3 hours of simmering, pluck out bay leaves and add basil. Using an immersion blender (or transfer sauce to a food processor or blender, working in batches, if necessary), purée until slightly chunky but not smooth. Reserve 1 ½ cups sauce; keep remaining sauce in pot warm over very low heat.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high and add oil. Once hot, add meatballs to skillet (without crowding) and work in batches to brown on all sides, turning frequently, about 5 minutes per batch. Return meatballs to baking sheet as you brown them.

Once all meatballs are browned, add them to pot with tomato sauce. If your pot is not large enough, divide sauce and meatballs between 2 pots. Increase heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 10–15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid, and return pasta to pot over medium-low heat. Spoon reserved 1 ½ cups sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Add pasta cooking liquid, ¼ cup at a time, as needed to loosen sauce and coat pasta.

Divide pasta among plates and top with meatballs and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup Parmesan and ¼ cup parsley