Mega MeatBall Spaghetti

This colossal MeatBall Spaghetti is a minimalistic touch to a classic meatball sauce. This moist and filled with spices gargantuesque meatball will bring goosebumps to any carnivores guaranteed!

Mega MeatBall Spaghetti is a minimalistic version of the classical meatball sauce we all love. This dish will bring goosebumps to any carnivores, a moist meatball filled with spices served in a simple onion-tomato sauce and al dente pasta.

I like to cheat myself, especially with food… I would say well it’s not a totally evil dish if I just make 1 meatball instead of many, but the truth is; in the end it’s as heavy calorie wise. Anyway, if I am to sin and eat red meat, better to it right no?

This meal is also kind of the story close to my heart. When I’ve met my husband, 10 years ago back in Panama, he used to eat so much pasta that I would call him a pasta monster. Later on, still in contact over the internet, I gave myself this “meatball princess” nickname to make sure he wouldn’t forget me… he didn’t. Since then, I perfectionalize my meatballs to reach the real title of “meatball princess”.

The Meatball magic

Yes, there is plenty of magic going on in a meatball, especial the colossal kind like this one. Here are five important points to succeed your mega meatballs:

• First, moisture is key, especially with a bigger version, a dry meatball is quite sad and frankly disastrous. To make sure our meatballs don’t pass its cooking time, a great trick is to soak a dry bread, without the crust, into milk for about 5 minutes and then when it’s time to make the meatballs, break the bread into the meat mix. This way you’ll get an ultra moist meatball guaranteed!

• Second, the eggs are often used to bind the balls together, but personally I do not like it because it also deform their form. Without the egg my meat ball hold just fine so… I suggest to skip the egg if you want a nicely formed meatball. Otherwise it could result into a burger/meatball hybrid.

• Third, the spices are soooo important here and yes salt is part of it. I suggested a pretty standard mix here; cumin, cinnamon, paprika, oregano and parsley and do not forget the salt and pepper. If you want a super tasty meatballs the salt is so important, I would even recommend to take out that hidden “fleur de sel” or kosher salt from the back of your pantry and make good use of it here.

• Fourth, Oh mighty Maillard reaction or browning of the meatballs with the help of the oven is a big “must” for this recipe. Usually with normal sized balls, you would fry them rapidly in a pan first but with mega meatballs it’s not that easy. That why the oven comes in handy, simply cook them and in the last minute of cooking your meatballs in the oven if they are not brown on top, simply broil it fast at maximal temperature. This light brown crust is a flavour of it’s own, not to be forgotten.

• Fifth, don’t over mix the meat mixture and do it with the hands to mix the spices and bread through it. The meatball will stay light and fluffy this way, otherwise it might turn into a heavy and hard meatball.

Okay… enough meatball talk. Let’s get to it!

Mega MeatBall Spaghetti

Makes 4 portions | Preparation: 40 minutes | Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

• 400g spaghetti
• 400g tomato sauce
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic
• olive oil
• extra shaved parmesan *optional

The Meatballs

• 500g ground pork and veal meat (could be beef also)
• 1 garlic finely chopped
• 1 slice of dry bread without the crust
• 50ml milk (just enough to soak the bread) *could be replaced by water
• 1 hand of fresh flat leaves parsley finely chopped
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika (spicy kind)
• salt and pepper (be generous)

Directions

1. Start making the 4 mega meatballs; add the milk to the slice of bread and let soak 5 minutes until well absorbed
2. Mix all the meatball ingredients together with the hands and break the soaked in milk bread into the balls
3. Makes 4 balls, add to a baking sheet on a rack and cook in the oven at 180°C (350F) for 30 minutes
4. During that time cook in a small saucepan the finely chopped onions in olive oil, low heat until perfectly translucid (takes about 10 minutes) and getting brownish on the bottom of the pan
5. Deglaze with a splash of wine or water and add the garlic
6. Add the tomato sauce or diced tomatoes to the onion mix and let it warm up gently
7. Cook the spaghetti in salty boiling water, 10 minutes before the end of the meatballs cooking process
8. Once the meatballs are cooked through, if they are missing the slightly brown top, broil them for a minute in the oven, then add them rapidly to the saucepan with kitchen tongs and cover them with sauce
9. Serve the spaghetti, then the sauce and finally the mega meatball on top.

Serve with nicely shaved parmesan pieces. Enjoy!