| First you make your
meatballs. Here are the steps: In a large mixing
bowl combine the ground beef and the ground pork until the two are uniformly blended. Then
drop in the remaining ingredients and, with your hands, work everything together until you
end up with a smooth meat mixture.
Now, keeping your hands wet so that the mixture
doesn’t stick to your fingers, begin rolling out the meatballs (you want them to be
slightly larger than a golf ball). As each one is shaped, place it on a lightly greased
shallow baking sheet.
When they’re all made, slide them into a 400-degree
oven and bake them - turning them once - for about 20 minutes or until the meat begins to
firm and brown slightly. This does two things - it helps hold the meatballs together while
they’re cooking in the gravy, but more importantly it renders out most of the excess
fat from the meat and keeps your gravy from being greasy.
While the meatballs are baking, it’s time to make your
tomato gravy. If you follow these directions to the letter, it will be some of the best
you ever had!
In a heavy 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the olive oil to medium
high. Then drop in the chopped onions and the garlic and - stirring constantly - lightly
sauté them together until they just soften (it is not necessary to brown the onions and
you don’t want the garlic to burn). About two to three minutes should do it.
When the onions and garlic are uniformly blended, add the
tomato paste to the pot and rapidly stir it into the mix. Remember - you don’t have
to fry the tomato paste for eternity to make good red gravy. Actually, if you fry the
paste for much longer than 5 or 6 minutes you will increase the acidity of the tomatoes
and the gravy will be strong, harsh and bitter. You want it to come out light and sweet,
so just cook it a minute or two until the paste, onions, garlic and olive oil are mixed
well.
At this point, add the chicken broth or water to the tomato
paste and stir again until the mixture is silky smooth. Keep in mind that the secret to
making a gravy the right consistency is to use three cans of water for every one can of
tomato paste.
When the sauce is thoroughly mixed, add the basil, the
Frank Davis Sicilian Seasoning and the bay leaves and season the gravy with salt and
pepper to your taste.
Now you’re ready to drop in the meatballs - but just
the meatballs: throw the pan drippings away! Gently place the meatballs into the pot with
a spoon or a pair of tongs, being careful not to break them apart and position them so
that they’re completely submerged in the gravy. All that’s left now is to cover
the pot and cook at a “simmer” for about two hours.
When you’re ready to eat, cook the spaghetti in about
a gallon and a half of rapidly boiling lightly salted water until it is al dente (firm,
yet tender but not soft). When it’s ready, drain it thoroughly (don’t rinse
it!), toss it with about a cup or two of the tomato gravy to keep the strands from
sticking together, sprinkle it liberally with the Parmesan cheese, and serve it piping hot
with the meatballs!
I don’t care where you’ve eaten meatballs and
spaghetti before, I promise this is gonna be your all-time favorite! |
