Spaghetti Meatballs

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti - 1 lb
• Canned Crushed Tomato - 1 lb (450gm)
• White Vinegar - 2 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Ground Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp
  
• Green Beans - 1 cup, cut in 1 inch pieces.
• Onion - 1 lrg, finely chopped
• Parmesan cheese - 1 cup, grated
• Italian/flat leaf parsley - 1 cup, finely chopped
• 
  
• For the meatballs:
• Ground Beef - 1 lb
• Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Jalapeno - 1, finely diced
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Methods:

• 1. Mix everything together for the meatballs. Form into balls, 1 lb beef should make about 20 balls. Cover and refrigerated for about 1/2 hour- 2 hours max, for the ingredients to settle together.
  
• 2. Meanwhile, in a large pot heat 3 tbsp of oil, add the onions and saute till translucent.
• 3. Add the canned tomato, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine and simmer on low-med heat for about 10 min, stirring occasionally.
• 4. Add 2 cups of hot water, cover and simmer on low-med heat for 20 min.
• 5. Meanwhile, take the meatballs out of the refrigerator and saute them on a non-stick pan for about 3-5 min, turning the meatballs to brown all over. You do not need to add any oil to the pan, since the meatballs, as soon as they hit the heated pan, will release the fat content and that will the allow enough lubricant for the meatballs to be sauteed.

• 6. Brown the meatballs in batches, so that it will not release too much juice to be stewed. You are not looking for the meatballs to be fully cooked. They need to be sauteed just to create that charred up look. Once all the meatballs have been browned all over, transfer them to the tomato sauce.
  
• 7. After adding the meatballs, cover and simmer the tomato sauce on low heat for about 30 min to let the meatballs finish cooking. Add 1 cup of water if the sauces tend to thickened too much. Stir the sauce occasionally to avoid lumping.
  
• 8. Add the spaghetti and the green beans to the meatball sauce. Stir to combine, simmer on low-med heat for about 15-20 min, or till the spaghetti and the beans are cooked through.
• 9. Serve the spaghetti with 5 meatballs for each serving, topped with a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese and the chopped parsley.
  

Spaghetti alla Bolognese

Spaghetti alla Bolognese, or the Bolognese sauce is a meat and tomato based sauce, named after Bologna, Italy. The traditional Bolognese sauce uses a variety of ingredients such as carrots, celery, panchetta, and red wine, along with the ground meat and tomato paste. In my version I have not used them, instead I added olives and some herbs (which are usually skipped in the traditional version)

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti - 1 lb (450 gm)
• Canned Tomato - 1 lb jar
  
• Minced Beef - 1 lb (450 gm) (you can also use chicken or turkey mince)
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
  
• Canned Pitted Olives - 1, drained, roughly chopped
• Onion - 1 large, diced
• Garlic cloves - 1 tsp, minced
• Dried chili flakes - 1 tbsp or to taste (depending on heat preference)
• Grated Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup
  
• Italian seasoning or dried oregano - 1 tsp
• Salt & pepper - to taste
  

Methods:

• 1. First prepare the soffritto*. In a large non-stick pan, heat 3 tbsp of oil . Add the chopped onions, saute till translucent. Add the garlic and saute a bit more.
• 2. Add the minced beef and some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Saute till the meat has changed colour to brown.
• 3. Add the soy sauce, olives, Italian seasoning or the dried oregano, chili flakes and saute for 3-5 min.
• 4. Add the canned tomato and a cup of hot water and simmer on low heat for about 10 min**, or till the colour changes to a deep red and the sauce reduces down to a thicker consistency.
  
• 5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta following the packages instructions, till al dente. Drain.
• 6. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and simmer for 15 min on medium heat, so that the pasta will absorb the sauce flavours and the sauce will thicken and stick to the pasta.
  
• 7. Turn of the heat, and stir in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese before serving.

Hints:
*Soffritto means the base of any dish, where cooking the aromatics, such as onion, garlic, celery, etc, are cooked in oil or sauteed slowly.
**The longer you cook the sauce the better it tastes, so if you have time, simmer it on low heat for about 2-4 hours. The richness of the taste difference will amaze you. However my version is for a busy or an impatient cook (which I tend to be when I am starving)
***If you like, make extra amount and refrigerate, as I do since the left-overs taste even better the following day.

Stir Fried Spaghetti

I came up with this dish one day, when I wanted to have some Asian inspired stir-fried noodles, and had to do good with whatever ingredients I had available that will be close to it. The result was far away from any Asian noodles, but still it was sooooooooooooo yummy that I had to share.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti - 1 lb (450 gm)
• Chicken breast fillet - 1, deboned and cut into thin strips
• Baby Spinach Leaves - 2 cups
• Fresh Roma tomato - 2 large, each cut into 8 cubes
• Breakfast beef sausage patties - 4, cut into bite size cubes.
• Garlic powder - 1 tsp
• Salt & Pepper - to taste
  

Methods:

• Place the cut-up tomatoes on a baking dish, sprinkle some oilve oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper on top, and broil/grill for 5- 10 min, untill they shrivel up. You can also use roast tomatoes instead, if you like.
  
• Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti as instructed on the package. Drain.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non stick-pan, add the chicken, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Saute till they are cooked through and browned a bit.
  
• Add the sausage pieces and saute for 3-5 more min, till they crisp up.
• Add the pasta and stir fry with the chicken and sausages for few more min (3-5).
• Just before taking it off the heat, stir in the roast tomatoes and the spinach. Turn of the heat and stir to mix everything up evenly. The residue heat will wilt the spinach down.
  
• Serve and enjoy.