What's for Dinner: Spaghetti con Polpettine e Caprino

Spaghetti? Check. Tiny Meatballs? Check. Goat Cheese? Check and check. Say it with me: Spaghetti con polpettine e caprino. Say it with an Italian accent. Roll your rs. Let it flow. However you do it, your tastebuds will be saying, "Grazie" by the time the night is over.

This recipe is based on the dish of the same name that I had at Trattoria Zero Otto Nove in New York City a couple of weeks ago. Since I left I've been craving it and it is soooo easy to make that I just had to do it!

For this recipe I made my sauce from scratch. (At least as scratch as I get.) I could have used a jar sauce and jazzed it up a bit, but for this, I wanted to go authentic.

For the sauce heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan. Then add five cloves of minced garlic, one carrot and one stalk of celery finely chopped.

Cook these until the garlic becomes fragrant, but not burned, and add in a thinly sliced yellow onion. Cook this down until the onion starts to carmelize.

Add in the can of pureed tomatoes and tomato paste, basil and oregano and let cook.

While the sauce is cooking mix together the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Form 1/2" to 3/4" meatballs and place on a baking sheet. Put the meatballs in a 350 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Make pasta according to directions and drain. In an individual serving bowl add the pasta, meatballs, sauce and top with thinly sliced goat cheese.

Heaven!

Special shout out to the boy who helped me make the meatballs. I can't decide if it was worth it or not though, having listened to 20 minutes of pleading to go to the Guns n' Roses concert in July and several song lyrics, along with the endless patter that he does. so well

Sauce Ingredients:

• 5 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 /2 yellow onion thinly sliced

• 1 carrot finely chopped

• 1 stalk celery finely chopped

• Olive oil

• 3 28 ounce cans Italian tomatoes, pureed

• 1 14.5 can chopped tomatoes with juice

• 1 teaspoon Basil

• 1 teaspoon Oregano

• Salt and pepper to taste

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef (I use 80% because I like the flavor that the fat in the beef gives it)

• 1 egg

• 1/3 cup bread crumbs

• 1 tablespoon Minced onion

• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

• Salt, to taste

• Pepper, to taste

Additional Ingredients:

• Pasta - I like to use angel hair because it's the boy's favorite, but any pasta will do

• 2 ounces Goat cheese, sliced

Directions:

For the sauce:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan. Add five cloves of minced garlic, one carrot and one stalk of celery finely chopped.

2. Cook these until the garlic becomes fragrant, but not burned, and add in a thinly sliced yellow onion. Cook this down until the onion starts to carmelize.

3. Add in the can of pureed tomatoes and tomato paste, basil and oregano and let cook.

For the Meatballs:

1. While the sauce is cooking mix together the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl.

2. Form 1/2" to 3/4" meatballs and place on a baking sheet.

3. Put the meatballs in a 350 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until cooked through.

For the Pasta:

1. Make pasta according to directions and drain.

2. In an individual serving bowl add the pasta, meatballs, sauce and top with thinly sliced goat cheese.

#italian #pasta