Spaghetti and Meatballs

On Sunday Night we had Spaghetti and Meatballs. The sauce for the meatballs was cooked all day and the meatballs were added towards the end.  The pasta was made from scratch. All pasta made this week will be made with the same base, just different attachments on the pasta roller.

Spaghetti and Meatballs
(makes 4 servings)

Pasta Sauce
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Onion
1 Large Garlic Clove
1 Celery Stick
1 Carrot Stick
1 Can Tomato Paste
1 Large Can Whole Tomatoes
1 Tbsp. Fresh Oregano
1Tbsp. Fresh Basil
Salt
Pepper

Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. Oregano
1 Tbsp. Basil
Salt
Pepper
1 Tbsp. Oil

Pasta Dough
1 cup flour
1 Egg
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Water

First make the sauce as it will need to simmer for a few hours at least, all day is better.  Heat 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil in large pot.  Add onion, garlic, celery and carrot and cook until tender.  Stir in 1 can of tomato paste.  Using your hands one at a time squish whole tomatoes from can into the pot.  Add herbs and salt and pepper to taste.  Allow to simmer for at least 1 hour before using an immersion blender to blend smooth. Once smooth allow to simmer at low heat for at least 3 hours, but all day if possible.

For the meatballs, combine, ground beef, egg, bread crumbs and herbs and mix until well blended. Using your hands form into large sized meatballs.  Set aside in the refrigerator for at least 30 min. to firm. To cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in large frying pan. Place meatballs in frying pan and brown on all sides. Place frying pan in oven to cook meatballs through (20 minutes).  Remove meatballs from frying pan and place meatballs into the sauce and allow to simmer in the sauce while you make the pasta.

For the pasta, combine flour, egg, olive oil and water.  Form into a ball. Cover and let dough rest for 30 minutes. Flour a cutting board and pasta roller.  Divide dough into two pieces. Let once piece remain covered until ready to use. Flour the first piece of dough and roll through the pasta roll, continue rolling until thin (I rolled to "5" on my pasta roller), add spaghetti attachment to roller and roll through, to make the spaghetti noodles.  Repeat with second piece of dough.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add salt and olive oil to pot.  Add spaghetti and cook until tender, approximately 3-5 minutes. Drain well.  Serve sauce and meatballs on spaghetti.