Spaghetti with Meat Balls in Rich Tomato Sauce

As a family, I feel, we are moving closer to Italian Cuisine. Even my fussy eater never shows her attitude towards any of the Italian dishes, in spite being spicy (yeah...I like these dishes to be slightly hot).

Coming to the dish....I just loved these tender, juicy meatballs soaked in rich tomato juice..simmered on low heat for about an hour...On the other hand, the meat balls imparted all its richness to the tomato juice making it even more richer. 

This time around I got rid off the normal white, plastic-tasting spaghetti (which my son disliked) and caught hold of some organic stuff, which had a superior flavour of its own.

Ingredients

Spaghetti - 1 packet

Italian Meat balls

Minced meat (raw) - 500g
Egg - 1
Garlic - 1 clove
Grated cheese (Romano / Ricotta / Parmesan) - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Fresh chopped parsley - 2 tsp
Chopped basil - 1 leaf

Home-made Tomato Sauce
Tomato - 3 big
Onion - 1 big
Garlic - 2 cloves
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Fresh chopped parsley - 2 tbsp (if using dried, use 2 tsp)
Fresh chopped basil - 1 tbsp (if using dried, use 1/2 tsp)
Salt - as per taste
Chilli flakes - 2 tsp (optional)
Water - approx 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 tbsp



Method

Meatballs
1. Soak the breadcrumbs in milk and keep for around 10 minutes.
2. Mix all the ingredients, including the soaked breadcrumbs using hand.
3. Make small ball.
At this point, you can refrigerate if not using immediately.

Home-made Tomato Sauce
1. Chop the onion & garlic finely.
2. Crush the tomatoes well in a processor
3. Heat a wide mouthed, thick-bottomed pan, add the olive oil
4. Add the onion, garlic and saute till they become transparent, in low heat.
5. Add the tomato, basil, parsley, salt and sugar, stir well.
6. Simmer on very low heat for about an hour (It is best to simmer it for 2 hrs).
7. After simmering for about 15 - 20 min, drop the meat balls into the gravy and let it slowly cook for atleast 45 min.

Spaghetti

1. Heat plenty of water in a wide mouthed pan.
2. When the water is rolling boil, add salt and few drops of olive oil (to avoid sticking of spaghetti).
3. Now add the spaghetti, and gently stir.
4. Let it cook for about 20 min, till spaghetti is cooked well.
5. Drain and serve along with the meat ball - tomato sauce

Chicken Pizza

Pizza is one of the "global" comfort food, enjoyed by almost any nationality. Not blabbering too much about its goodness (we all know it anyway), I am straightaway going into the recipe. 

I am mainly giving here the recipe of the pizza base / dough. Rest of the stuff (pizza sauce & toppings) should be according to your liking and depending on whatever is available in your pantry.

Ingredients - Pizza Dough

Yield - 4 small size pizzas or 2 medium size pizzas

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups (If you are using All purpose flour alone, it should be 3 1/2 cups

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups (yeah, I like whole wheat is almost anything that I prepare. It gives the dish an earthy feeling, and a lot more crunchiness compared to APF alone).

Oregano - 1 tsp

Instant yeast - 2 1/4 tbsp

Warm water - 1 cup

Olive oil - 3 tbsp

Salt - approx 1 tbsp (I didnt really measure :))

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Method

1. Take 1/2 cup of warm water (keep aside the other half cup water) and dissolve the sugar in it.

2. Sprinkle yeast over this water and keep it aside undisturbed till it becomes frothy. It may take around 5 to 8 minutes. If water isn't warm enough, it might take longer. 

3. Place the flours & oregano in the food processor bowl, with dough hook on.

4. Switch on the processor (low speed), and while the flour is getting mixed up, add the salt and olive oil. 

5. Add the yeast - water mixture, increase the speed to medium and knead the dough for approximately 5 minutes

6. Take the remaining half cup of water and keep adding 1 tbsp to the dough, while its kneading.

7. Continue the process until you get a smooth, non-sticky dough. Add more water if needed. 

8. Smear some olive oil in the bowl and on the dough. Cover the bowl with a cling film and place the bowl in a warm place for almost an hour for the dough to rise and double its size.

While the dough is rising, you can prepare your pizza sauce and topping. Here is what I used.

Pizza sauce

I was too lazy to prepare the sauce from scratch. So I used a mix of below sauces.

Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp

Nandos Lemon and Herb sauce - 1 tbsp (to make the sauce a bit tangy)

Nandos Peri - Peri (medium hot) sauce - 1 tbsp (to spice it up a bit)

Toppings

Big onions - 2 medium, cut into chunks

Sausages , cut - 1 cup

Carrot - 1 small, sliced

Capsicum - 1 small, cut into chunks

Pork (had to finish off the pork left in freezer) - 1 cup (cooked and slightly roasted with li'l salt and chilly powder)

Basil leaves  - 2

Parsely - 1 tsp

Oregano - 1/2 tsp

I slightly sauteed the all the above (except pork) with very little olive oil to get rid of its rawness.

Pizza (contd)

9. Pre-heat the oven to 220 deg atleast for 30 min.

10. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and divide them into 4 balls. 

11. Take one ball at a time, flatten them using a rolling pin (you'll need to dust it with some all purpose flour) or with hand. Try to make the center part thin and slightly thick towards the edges.

12. My oven could handle only 2 small size pizzas at a time. Since I don't have a pizza stone, I arranged the flattened bases on an aluminium foil. Cover and keep it in a warm place for approx 30 minutes.

13. After 30 minutes, they would have risen slightly. Place 1 tbsp of pizza sauce on top and arrange the toppings. Top it up with 2 tbsp of grated mozzarella cheese.

14. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese has melted and browned slightly. 

15. Take it out, slice them up and enjoy a sumptuous meal.

Tomato & Basil Pasta

Pasta is fast becoming a hot favorite on the dinner table...not only with the food-lover; even the fussy eater licks her plate clean if pasta is served. And she prefers it for breakfast too. So my life has become slightly better as this particular pasta preparation is a very quick and easy one.

Ingredients

Penne pasta -1 packet (300 gm)

Tomato - 2 big, chopped finely

Crushed garlic - 1 tsp

Chilly flakes - 1 tsp (as per tolerance)

Big onion - 1 big, chopped finely

Parsely - 1 tsp, chopped

Basil - 2-3 leaves , if using fresh or 1/2 tsp dried

Thyme - 1 small strand

Parmesan cheese, grated - as per taste

Salt - as per taste

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Cooking cream - 2 tbsp

Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Method

In a pan, add the olive oil. When hot, add the crushed garlic and saute for a while. Then add chopped onions and saute till they are translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes and herbs. Saute till the tomatoes turn mushy. Add the chilly flakes and needed salt. Sprinkle the pepper powder too. Saute for a while. Now add 1/4 cup water and cook for about 5 min, closing the lid. When whole thing is cooked well and mushy enough, open the lid and add the cooking cream. Stir well and switch off the stove. 

15 min before the dinner time, cook pasta in enough water. Add salt as directed in the pack. When the pasta is cooked well, drain water and add pasta to the tomato mixture (turn on the stove). Mix well. Add Parmesan cheese, thoroughly mix and serve hot.