Homemade Spaghetti & Meatballs
Real Talk. If I had to pick my very favorite meal, it would absolutely be a good plate of pasta! I love a big bowl of spaghetti with a glass of red wine. There is just something delectably comforting about this meal, and whenever I know it is on that night’s menu I crave it all day long.
Thanks to our recent current event that is keeping us all housebound, I decided to try something that I have wanted to do for a while now. Making fresh pasta has been on my to do list for some time, but, until recently, I have been too intimated to give it a go. I thought that it would be a long, tedious, and difficult process. Spoiler alert. It’s not. With a little additional prep time, you can have fresh pasta that the whole family will enjoy.
Photo courtesy of squarespace.
Pasta:
2 Cups flour (Plus more for dusting.)
1 egg yolk
2 whole eggs
2 full tbs evoo
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water (Plus more if needed.)
Combine all ingredients (except water) in a food processor. Once mixed together, slowly add water a little at a time while blending. Pasta dough should be moist but not stick to your fingers. If dough is too sticky you can add flour in small dustings until it is the right consistency. If dough is not moist enough, add a splash of water as needed.
Sprinkle flour onto a counter top and on both of your hands. Scoop up dough from food processor and kneed with hands until smooth. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for thirty minutes (or up to a day).
When ready to form noodles, take pasta out of the fridge. If you have a pasta machine, this is the time to bust it out. For those that don’t, a rolling pin will work just fine. Dust the counter top with flour and then begin rolling out pasta. Pasta can be between 1/8 and 1/16 of an inch thick before cutting. In my opinion 1/16 of an inch is the way to go. I like a nice thin, smooth pasta that is easy to slurp up!
When dough is the desired thickness, cut into strips. (We used a pizza cutter to slice noodles.) The next step isn’t necessary, but I found it to be helpful when your ready to put the noodles into boiling water so that they all go in at the same time. (That way they all cook evenly.)
After noodles are cut, pick them up one at a time and let them hang to dry. Let me tell you, you can get creative with this. We balanced a rolling pin between two Tervis cups filled with water. Though this worked just fine, I definitely plan on purchasing a pasta drying rack for next time.
*Tip* Letting your pasta hang to dry is a great way to thin and even out your dough. You can gently pull and stretch the pasta to get it how you like. They do dry out quickly once hung, so make sure your pasta strip is how you like it before moving on to the next piece.
When ready to cook, boil pasta dough 4-7 minutes or until tender. Drain water and then toss pasta with olive oil. Top with your favorite sauce.
When I decided to make fresh pasta, I knew that I needed something to go with it. The obvious choice for me: Meatballs! Since my pasta was from scratch, I decided it was only right to also make meatballs the same way. (Though my pasta sauce is 100% from a jar. In my opinion, it just doesn’t get any better than Rao’s Homemade Marinara.)
Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (Plus more for topping.)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup garlic & herb bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
Sauce:
Your favorite jar of marinara
2-3 tbs parmesan
beef stock concentrate
Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil and set aside. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well by hand. Form meat mixture into even sized balls and place on lined baking sheet in rows. Cook for 15-20 minutes (or until cooked through).
While meatballs are cooking heat desired marinara (I prefer Rao’s Homemade Marinara) in a large pan with tall sides. I like to add a stock concentrate to my sauces. For a traditional meat sauce, I use chicken stock concentrate. For spaghetti and meatballs, I like to use beef stock concentrate since the meat doesn’t have long to simmer in the sauce and infuse flavors.
Stir in the stock concentrate until gel dissolves. Then, sprinkle in the parmesan cheese. When meatballs are done, add them to the sauce and gently stir together. Serve with your favorite pasta.
Our family loves to serve pasta with green beans and garlic bread on the side! I hope your family enjoys these recipes as much as we do!
Bon Appétit!
Photo courtesy of squarespace.