Spaghetti & Meatballs, Soprano?s Style

Just Like Mamma Used to Make!

What could be better on a cold wintery evening than a big steaming bowl of pasta? The ultimate in Italian comfort food, surely? Add in a few spicy meatballs and it becomes the perfect Italian-American supper.

I usually go for Nigella’s recipe for pasta & meatballs from Nigella Bites, but the other night I felt like a change – opting instead for an adapted version of this recipe from The Soprano’s Family Cookbook (which I’ve yet to add to my collection, hint hint, wink wink Santa )

This dish is not hard to make, but all that mixing and rolling and sauteing is a time-consuming process. And it’s mainly “active time,” as the magazines would say. Not that, that’s a bad thing – some days are meant for pottering round the kitchen and the cold, wet, dank weeks of winter have ‘kitchen’ days aplenty.

I used a fancy spaghetti, I could of course made my own pasta, but it just wasn’t that kind of day.

Pasta is a very healthy product ,especially the top quality pasta made with hard durum wheat flour and air dried in the traditional way. Unlike some of the cheap and cheerful pastas available in some supermarkets which are made with cheaper flours and forced dried. Its the same old story One gets what one pays for!

So where do most people go wrong when cooking pasta, its such a simple and fast dish but you do need to follow some basic rules .

You need at least 4 litres of water for every 500 grams of pasta ,so use a large pan enough to hold both the water and the pasta ,
When the water has boiled and not before, add salt (about a tablespoon).
Next add the pasta, dried spaghetti and other long shaped pasta has to be held until it has softened in the hot water and can be bent round to fit the pan.
When the pasta is in the pan, give it a stir to prevent it from sticking .
There is no need to add olive oil to the water to stop the pasta sticking as long as you use a large enough pan and plenty of water.
Cook the pasta unti it is al dente – al dente means to the teeth , or more correctly in this context firm to the bite, very slighty resistant.
Most packets of Pasta have a cooking time shown , take this as a guild only as diffferent shapes take different times, therefore taste the pasta about half way through the recomended cooking time and continue to do so at regular intervals until it is cooked.
The best way to add your sauce is after you have drained the pasta into your colendar pour the pasta back into the now drained but still warm pan and add your sauce to the pasta and stir as required before serving onto warmed plates

A few key meatball tips:

Keep the meatballs refrigerated until the very moment you cook them as this helps them retain their shape. If you make them fresh, refrigerate for at least an hour before cooking.
Dust them in flour before browning.
Eschew the tongs! Instead, turn the precious meatballs carefully with a couple of spoons.

Soprano’s Style Spaghetti & Meatballs

For the sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian-style pork sausages
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tins Italian peeled tomatoes
1 cup water
1 cup red wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

For the Meatballs

1 pound ground beef or a combination of beef and pork
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs, preferably homemade
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon very finely minced garlic
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil


To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Place the sausages in the pot and brown on all sides. Set the sausages aside. Drain off most of the fat from the pot. Add the garlic and cook for about two minutes or until golden. Remove and discard the garlic. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
With a food mill, puree the tomatoes, with their juice, into the pot. Or, for a chunkier sauce, just chop up the tomatoes and add them. Add the wine and water, salt and pepper to taste. Add the sausages and basil and bring the sauce to a simmer. Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.
Meanwhile, make the meatballs: Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a large bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Rinse your hands with cool water and lightly shape the mixture into 2-inch balls.
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the meatballs and brown them well on all sides. (They will finish cooking later.) Transfer the meatballs to a plate.
After two hours, add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick.
Serve with pasta of your choice (spaghetti, tagliatelle, etc) and sprinkle with cheese.