Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Traditional Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipes


1 pound Spaghetti, Linguine or Thin Spaghetti, uncooked

4 slices white bread
1/2 cup skim milk
2 large egg whites
8 oz. ground turkey
8 oz. extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 tbsp. minced fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. minced fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1 recipe Basic Tomato Sauce (see recipe below)
1 tsp. vegetable oil, divided

1. Put the bread into a medium mixing bowl and pour the milk over it. Let sit 5 minutes. Add the egg whites, ground turkey, ground beef, Romano cheese, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Knead the mixture with your hands until it is smooth. To prevent sticking, dip your hands into cool water before forming each meatball. Form mixture into 30 1 1/2inch balls.

2.
Pour the tomato sauce into a large, heavy-bottom saucepan and bring to a simmer over
low heat. Warm 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add half the meatballs to the skillet and brown them on all sides. Spoon the meatballs into the tomato sauce. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to the skillet and brown the rest of the meatballs, then add them to the sauce. Simmer, stirring, for 20 minutes.

3.
While sauce is simmering, prepare pasta according to package directions; drain. Transfer
to a large serving bowl. Remove bay leaves from sauce; pour sauce over pasta and serve.