Spaghetti with Meatballs

This is the second pasta recipe I prepared for my Dad's birthday lunch.  I was aiming it to be a bestseller for kids. Lo and behold, kids at heart loved it too! Delight everyone with this SPAGHETTI WITH MEATBALLS.

Serves 5
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cooking Time 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Meatballs

• 1/2 kilo ground beef
• 1 tbsp rock salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup prepared breadcrumbs (soak in scant 1/2 cup fresh milk)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• oil for frying

Sauce

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsps tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf, torn
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste 

Optional: to make it sweet-style spaghetti

• 1/2 cup white sugar

To Serve

• 250g spaghetti
• grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Procedure:

1. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Pasta should be al dente and not overcooked.
2. Drain pasta. Set aside.
3. Combine all ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl. 
4. Wet your hands to prepare them for folding the mixture.
5. Fold the ingredients until thouroughly mixed.
6. Using a measuring spoon (1 tbsp), scoop twice of the mixture to your palm, roll in your hands, and form 2-inch sized meatballs. Continue until all the mixture is formed into meatballs.  That's about 8-10 pieces.
7. Heat a pan or skillet on medium-high flame.  Pour vegetable oil until about 1/4-inch deep.
8. Fry the meatballs in batches until all sides are browned.  Drain the oil by placing them on a paper towel-lined plate.
9. Discard the used oil but do not clean the pan.
10. In the same pan, pour olive oil.
11. When the oil is already hot, fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the onions and bell pepper and cook until softened.
12. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, and sugar.  Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
13. Add the meatballs, cover, and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
14. Season to taste.
15. Serve on spaghetti, and top with parmesan cheese.

1. Scant means barely.  A scant cup therefore is barely a cup, or a little less than a cup.  It is the opposite of heaping, which means rounded or over the top.
2. Al dente literally means to the tooth. No better way to check if the pasta is cooked than to bite it. If the pasta is firm but doesn't stick to your teeth, it's cooked. If it sticks to your teeth, cook for another minute and check again. DO NOT OVERCOOK.   
3. Folding is a gentler manner of mixing ingredients than "stirring", or "mixing".  It also means mixing a lighter ingredient with a heavier ingredient.

I hope this becomes a bestseller for you too! Enjoy!

Here is the other pasta recipe I prepared for my Dad's birthday lunch: TUNA AGLIO OLIO.

This recipe is lifted from the February 2015 issue of Appetite magazine (PH).