For ➍400 g spaghetti (fresh, if possible)
2 l water
2 tbs olive oil
salt
sauce:
400 g tomato puree*
170 g tomato pasta*
450 g diced tomatoes (canned)*
3 cloves garlic
1 medium yellow onion
1 bay leaf
1 ts dried basil
3 ts dried oregano
2 tbs fresh parsley
½ ts garlic powder
½ ts chili powder
5 tbs olive oil
15 cl red wine (e.g. Chianti)
sugar
salt & pepper
2 thin pork chops (400 g)
some butter
meatballs:
450 g ground beef
1 egg
1½ slice dark bread with crust
3 tbs bread crumbs
5 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
25 g Parmigiano cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ tbs red wine
1 tbs sweet basil
1 ts garlic powder
salt & coarse black pepper
butter
Put ground beef in a large bowl. Add parsley. Break 1 egg into bowl. Add garlic. Add Parmigiano.
Wet pieces of bread**. Squeeze water out. Break the bread into the bowl. Add bread crumbs.
Add coarse black pepper, salt, garlic powder, red wine and 1 tbs of basil. Mix all the ingredients for 3 m. Put in refrigerator for 30 m.
Pour oil in a saucepan to cover the bottom. Finely chop cloves of garlic. Add to the cold oil.
Finely chop medium size onion.
Put the oil with the garlic on medium heat. Heat until you see little bubbles around the garlic. Add the chopped onions and lower the heat to medium low. Simmer for 5 m. Add 1 ts oregano, ½ ts basil, a dash of salt and pepper. Mix well.
Add tomato paste. Fill empty can with water. Add to the sauce.
Set heat to medium. Stir and simmer for 4 m. Add a touch of salt, black pepper and ½ ts of oregano.
Add can of diced tomatoes. Fill can with water about half way, and add to the sauce. Stir and simmer for 10 m. Add 1 ts oregano, ½ ts basil, 1 tbs chopped parsley, just a dash of chili powder, ½ ts garlic powder and a dash of black pepper.
Add tomato puree. Mix well. Fill can up with water about ¾ full and add this to the sauce.
Add 1 ts oregano, 1 tbs parsley, ½ ts of basil and ½ ts of garlic powder. Mix well.
Keep at medium heat and cover pan. Add 15 cl red wine and mix well. Let simmer for 15 m.
Drop in 1 bay leaf.
Fry 2 thin pork chops in a pan with a little butter. Continue on low heat for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, turn up the heat to high and sear the chops for about 2 m on each side to brown. Add to the sauce. Keep simmering. Stir frequently.
Roll the meatballs' mix into 2.5 cm balls (with wet hands).
Heat butter in a very hot pan and sear the balls.
Add 2 ts of sugar to the sauce. Put in the meatballs. Cover and simmer for 30 m.
When ready, let stand covered for 1 or 2 h.***
Boil spaghetti in salted water with 2 tbs of olive oil.
Heat the sauce for 10 m. Take out the pork chops and cut into big chunks. Take out the balls.
Put spaghetti on a plate. Add some meat. Serve sauce in a bowl****.
Serve with a strong Italian wine.
*You can double tomato quantities to get 8 servings. Remove half of the sauce before putting in any meat and freeze. When reheating, add meat and finish the sauce as in recipe. Tomato paste is double concentrated tomato puree, slightly caramelized (if possible home made).
**You can put bread in 3 tbs of milk instead.
***Spoon off any excess fat.
****You can freeze the rest of the sauce for a few days. Do not leave any meat in the sauce when freezing.
Illustration of the most famous spaghetti dinner ever, from Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp movie.
While a classic duo now, tomatoes did not meet pasta until the early 1800's when Neapolitan street-sellers sold a ready made sauce to accompany the new dry factory-made pasta. Meat was very rare, and it was only when Italian migrants came to America that they could afford it. This kind of dish was way too expensive for most Italians in Italy, so the migrants created a phantasm come true (according to John Dickie's delightful Delizia! The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food) with meat and sauce, worth of the Disney dream factory.
More American-Italian hybrids: fettuccine Alfredo, spaghetti alla puttanesca, chicken Marsala, white pizza.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.
