
I admit this was a partial "fail" and it's my fault. I thought that I would cook the meatballs on the Big Green Egg and then put them in the sauce to simmer.

Wolfgang Puck's Special Spaghetti and Meatballs
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
4 T butter, unsalted (1/2 stick)
1 ea medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced [*1]
4 slices Italian bread, crusts discarded, cut into small dice
1/4 c whole milk
2 pounds lean ground veal [*2]
1 ea egg, slightly beaten
1/4 c parmesan cheese, freshly grated [*3]
1 T parsley, fresh chopped
1 T basil, fresh chopped
1 t thyme, fresh
1 t salt
1 t sugar
1/4 t black pepper, fresh ground
5 c "My Favorite Tomato Sauce" (see recipe)
1 pound dried spaghetti
Instructions
Saute the onion and garlic in the butter until soft but not browned. Remove and let this cool. We put ours in the freezer for about 10 minutes because we were in a hurry.
Make a panade by combing the milk and bread in a large mixing bowl.
Add the onion mixture, ground meat, egg, cheese, spices and herbs to the mixing bowl. Mix it together to get it fully tossed but try not to overwork it.
Rinse your hands with cold water and roll 1/8th of the mixture into a large even meatball. These are going to be big, almost baseball sized. Repeat to get a total of 8 huge balls.
Service
Remove the meatballs from the sauce. Mix the sauce with the cooked noodles and divide into 8 bowls. Top each with a meatball, some fresh chopped basil, and shaved parmesan reggiano.
Wolfgang Puck's Favorite Tomato Sauce
makes 5 cups
Ingredients
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, peeled, trimmed & minced
6 cloves garlic, minced [*1]
2 T tomato paste
4 lbs roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced[*5]
2 c chicken broth
16 ea basil leaves, washed, dried, and chopped into a chiffonade
12 T unsalted butter, cut into T sized pieces
salt
pepper
Instructions
Saute the onion in the olive oil over medium high heat for about 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic and keep cooking for another minute.
Add the tomato paste and tomatoes, cook for another 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock. Simmer briskly for about 20-30 minutes, waiting for the sauce to thicken. The book recommends passing through a sieve for a finer consistency. I just stuck in an immersion blender.
Stir in the basil. Whisk in the butter, piece by piece (yeah, I know, seemed odd to me but it worked).
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
[1] - used roasted garlic that we made (as taught by the book in another section)
[2] - used 1 lb each of ground beef and ground pork
[3] - used parmigiano reggiano instead
[4] - this is where I erred by cooking them on the grill first.
[5] - used technique showed in the "basics" section of the book to make Tomato Concasse
It was a solid dish, but next time, I'd add oregano, bay leaf, and some red pepper flakes to the tomato sauce, just because that's what we like.
it looks great! Ive never grilled meatballs before....too bad they didn't go well with your sauce.
ReplyDeleteWell, it was definitely a good thought...maybe just on a meatball sub they woulda rocked it!! Pictures are makin' me hungry!
ReplyDeleteYou take the most beautiful pictures of food. Is it weird that I could never eat the food you sometimes make and yet look at it like it's art? Yeah It's weird. : x
ReplyDeleteOk Seriously, kick my bum, I haven't commented in a while.
Man! Just when I'm thinking I really need to start South Beach again! This looks delicious, and sooner or later, I'm going to try it.
ReplyDeleteGood observation about how smoked foods can sometimes be too strong for a dish.. However, you don't know some things until you try!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than spaghetti and meatballs. Grilling the meatballs is a fantastic idea.
ReplyDeleteI think the grilling is way cool. My fav tip for meatballs is to cook them, then let them sit in the sauce and completely cool. Then re-heat it all and serve. Osmosis is a powerful agent for good. GREG
ReplyDelete