Spaghetti and Meatballs from Scratch

Tomato Sauce

1 tbs. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 large can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed

Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef, lean
1 lb. ground hot italian sausage
4 tbs. ketchup
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder

Spaghetti

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tbs. salt
4 large eggs
1 tbs. olive oil

Parmesan Cheese and Fresh Basil for topping at the end. 

Directions:

Marinara Sauce:

1. place olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook onion until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic to pan and cook another minute, stirring often so the garlic doesn't burn.

2. Add herbs to the onions and garlic and cook another minute. Add can of crushed tomatoes to the pan with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Once tomatoes have boiled, drop heat to low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

3. puree sauce in a blender or use an immersion blender in the pot and make the sauce smooth. Set aside until ready.

Pasta: 

1. Place flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. make a "well" in the center of the flour mix and add eggs and oil. Using your fingers, blend the eggs into the flour mixture, stirring the flour in from the sides of the well and working outwards. When the pasta dough is thoroughly mixed, turn it out on a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough until it is smooth and flexible but not sticky, adding small amounts of flour as needed, for 5 to 10 minutes. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Cover in plastic wrap and allow dough to rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours in the fridge.

2. To roll dough use either a pasta machine or roll by hand. You're looking for it to be about 1/8 inch thick for noodles. I go to number 5 on my kitchen aid mixer pasta roller attachment for noodles and to number 4 for ravioli dough. Some people have a cutting attachment for their pasta roller so use that for more uniform noodles but I just use a large chef knife and cut them into fettuccine noodles.

Tips on rolling out pasta dough -
roll on largest size first, fold in half and roll again. Repeat 3 times per size. Allow sheet to rest for 3-5 minutes (covered with a kitchen towel) between changing the thickness of the rolling machine.


Meatballs:

1. preheat oven to 400

2. combine all ingredients in a bowl and combine gently. Try to stir them as little as possible while still mixing everything together. Make a small test patty and cook it off in a saute pan over medium heat. Taste the patty to check the seasoning and then adjust salt and pepper as needed.

2. Roll meat mixture into balls and place onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. I like to make mine the size of golf balls but you can make them larger or smaller if you like, just remember to adjust how long they cook in the oven (smaller meatballs take less time to cook through).

3. Once meatballs are rolled, place into the preheated oven and cook for 7-10 minutes until just cooked through. Add cooked meatballs to the marinara sauce. This will allow all of the flavors to meld.

Putting it all Together:

1. Boil a large pot of salted water.

2. Place tomatoes and meatball mixture on low heat and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally.

3. Drop pasta in boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Fresh pasta takes much less time to cook.

4. Add cooked pasta to sauce. (do not rinse the pasta, you want the starch from the noodles to help hold the sauce on). Cook the pasta with the sauce for 1 minute and then put pasta on a large platter and serve family style or make plates and top with fresh parmesan and basil and enjoy!