Spaghetti and Meatballs | Brooklyn
Over the previous weekend, Eilis had received instructions from Diana about how to eat spaghetti properly using a fork only, but what was served was not as thin and slippery as the spaghetti Diana had made for her. The sauce was just as red, but was filled with flavours that she had never sampled before.
Brooklyn
Colm Tóibín
Autumn has rushed through Melbourne in a hurry and the cold chill of winter has begun to set in. For me this means a hot water bottle every night, excuses to go for a walk in the rain, re-reading classics and an array of carb-heavy comfort foods.
One such classic was Brooklyn from Colm Tóibín, a book I pick up after every rewatch of the film - something that also happens quite a bit. An amazing book about the perils of being homesick, creating a family in another country and a fascinating look at the toxicity that can emerge in small communities.
While there is an array of Irish foods sprinkled throughout this book, I of course had to make some spaghetti and meatballs, inspired by the first meal Eilis shares with Tony's family, one in which she had to practice eating spaghetti beforehand.
My last foray into meatball making was a good six years ago - the only memories I have from it are awful unfortunately. I think the meat may have been old and despite taking only a single bite, I experienced absolutely dreadful food poisoning that lasted throughout New Years Eve and the next day. An experience like that will absolutely turn you away from the food. Only recently I felt inspired to give them another go - albeit with plant based mince and a much lower chance of possible food poisoning.
The end result was a fantastic hearty meal - with a sharp red sauce (that can easily be made in advance and bottled!). Add in some fresh basil and cheese and you really can't go wrong.
*Note: I used Funky Fields plant based mince for my meatballs. I would do a combination of pork and beef mince if using real mince. The sauce as well needs to cook for a good hour or so - so make sure you get started on that earlier, it keeps really well also, so can be made quite a bit in advance.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Approx. 5 servings
Ingredients
Meatballs
400g minced meat *see note
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup of fine breadcrumbs
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp dried basil3
tbsp olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Fresh pepper
Sauce *see note
800g tinned peeled tomatoes
400g tinned diced tomatoes
2 brown onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
3 tbsp fresh basil
100ml red wine, optional
100ml water
Sea salt
Fresh pepper
350g spaghetti, my recipe is here if you want to make it yourself!
Sauce
In a large drying pan heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook the diced onions for around 2 minutes before adding in the roughly chopped garlic - cook for around 5 -6 minutes or until onion is translucent.
Add in the red wine, cooking it off for a few minutes before adding in all the tomatoes, oregano, chilli flakes, a good pinch of sea salt and pinch of pepper.
Leave the sauce on a medium heat until it starts to bubble, add in the 100ml of water and fresh basil and leave to continue cooking . You want to leave it on the stove for at least an hour - but it can easily be left for a good four hours or so - the flavours will only grow.
Meatballs
Add all the ingredients for the meatballs into a large bowl, except for the olive oil. Combine well, using your hands to mix the ingredients in - you don't want to bite down on a chunk of anything.
Shape the mince mixture into balls - whatever size you want!
Heat the leftover olive oil in a pan until hot and place the meatballs in - turning occasionally until all are browned and cooked.
At this stage you want to have a large pot of water on the stove boiling - make sure that you liberally salt the water as well. Cook the spaghetti according to instructions and drain when ready.
Divide the meatballs and sauce with the cooked spaghetti, serve with fresh basil and parmesan.