Tyler's Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs

mariahswind's Note:

From Tyler Florence's program, Tyler's Ultimate. This looks so good I just had to write it down so I can make it! Key points, he uses milk soaked fresh white bread. Dried breadcrumbs just don't make a nice meatball because they soak up moisture. He specifies San Marzano Plum/Italian Tomatoes for the sauce and uses a food mill to puree the tomatoes and seive the seeds out at the same time.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 large onions
• 1 head garlic
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 50 g fresh flat leaf parsley , approx 1 handful
• 2 (800 g) cans san marzano whole tomatoes
• 8 slices fresh white bread
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 ½ lbs ground beef
• 1 ½ lbs ground pork
• salt
• pepper
• 1 lb pasta
• 200 g fresh mozzarella cheese
• fresh basil (to garnish)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350°F.
2. Dice onions & crush garlic by first peeling and flattening with knife and then roughly chopping. Keeping garlic on cutting board and drizzling some olive oil and a sprinkle of salt take knife and crush together to make a paste. (Oil keeps it together and the salt acts as an abrasive). Divide onions and crushed garlic between two pans with oil, one for the sauce and the other for the meatball base (and eventually to fry them in). Put both of them on moderate heat to sweat and slightly caramelize.
3. To the meatball base add a roughly chopped handful of flat leaf parsley.
4. Meanwhile (both onion mixes are still cooking) remove the crusts from the slices of bread and place in bowl with about 1 cup of milk. Put aside to allow the milk to soak into the bread.
5. Put water in large pot for cooking pasta on (bring to simmer and then salt it.).
6. Once you've put the water for the pasta on you should be able to turn the heat off the meatball base.
7. Allowing time for the meatball base to cool, put the tomatoes through a food mill and add to the onions and garlic which have sweated down and started to caramelize. This will then cook down and thicken.
8. To make the meatballs place all of the base in a bowl, (put pan back on heat with some olive oil for frying the meatballs) squeeze the soaked bread slightly and place in bowl with base along with egg, a good grating of parmesan cheese, stir and add ground meats and salt and pepper to taste. Incorporate together with hands. Shape into balls between golf ball and tennis ball in size.
9. Fry meatballs in 2 batches of about 8 (depending on pan size) to seal and caramelize them on both sides. You can place them straight from forming them into the pan, once you have made about 8 then the first one will be ready to turn.
10. Place them in an oven proof pan all together and place 1/2 the tomato sauce in with the meatballs and place torn bits of fresh mozzarella on top and place uncovered in oven for 15 minutes to finish of cooking.
11. Add salt to simmering water, cook pasta for 12 minutes, al dente and drain, add to pan with remaining tomato sauce drizzle extra virgin olive oil and a good amount of grated parmesan and stir to mix.
12. Plate up pasta with 2 meat balls and garnish with a couple of basil leaves and more grated parmesan.
13. Cooking times and yield are estimates, once I make this dish I will change them if necessary.

Reviews

[Carolyn in Toronto]

An excellent spaghetti and meatball recipe (as are most of Tyler's recipes!!); I have made this one. Takes time but worth the effort. Didn't change a thing.