The “Second Coming” of Spaghetti has now arrived, I witnessed it myself! 🙂
A recipe awaits for how I tackle this once mundane dish. It could be the greatest spaghetti meal ever invented [on the planet], or maybe not? This will make you only wish you were born Italian… no Pope required here my friend. I cannot think of a better time to indulge in a Spaghetti and meatballs dinner than a cold and rainy night the day after a “Good Friday”, even though I personally do not follow Catholicism.
Here’s what you’ll need to create “The Second Coming of Spaghetti” in your own home:
Spaghetti noodles, duh!
1/3 of a large Onion or 1/2 of a medium Onion, roughly chopped.
1 large Green Bell Pepper or 2 smaller ones, roughly chopped.
Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon minced Garlic (optional)
1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds
1 tablespoon or 2 of Olive Oil
32 oz. bottle of Rao’s Arrabbiata Marinade Sauce
16 oz. HEB Italian Style Ground Pork Sausage. [HEB is one of the largest grocers in the state of Texas].
On the Rao’s Marinade Sauce I chose here:
I have made marinara sauce a couple times in the past and it is good but about two years ago I was looking for the highest rated store bought marinara and much to my surprise Rao’s name came up. Turns out that by far consumers favored Rao’s over any others on the market. I was surprised because I had never tried any of their products. I had tried one other that I thought was decent but Rao’s has outstanding flavor. Keep in mind Rao’s makes other marinara sauces but this particular one does have a kick, but it’s not overbearing – it’s just right! The Rao’s family apparently owned restaurants at one time in New York, they may still be in the restaurant business(?), not sure.
On the HEB Ground Pork Sausage:
You can use other sausage but this is an Italian dish right? So you go Italian when making spaghetti & meatballs. You can use high quality real link sausage cut up but you’ll need to remove the skin before cooking it because that’s going to interfere with enjoyment of this meal. Low quality sausage products made by Eckrich farms do not even have a skin that is removable, it’s made of stuff referred to in the industry as “filler”, a gummy fatty substance that is best described as gross. So if you go with link sausage get one that is of high quality with a real intestinal skin that can be easily removed before you cut it into bite-sized pieces.
Directions:
Boil spaghetti noodles according to the directions on the package label. You can add salt to the water but there’s usually plenty of salt in most things these days. Once the noodles are done to your liking pour them into a colander sitting in your sink and begin gently running cold water over them tossing them around a little to make certain that all noodles return to room temperature [or colder], this way they will never stick together. We’ll deal with how to get them warm for serving later.
Next cut the ground sausage, around 1/2 inch thick slices then add in a little fennel seed to each before forming the slice into a ball. I get between 12 and 13 meatballs from a 16 oz. package of sausage. Place them on a foil lined flat baking pan then put them on the lower rack of an oven already preheated to 350 degrees, for 20 minutes. Afterward, turn the meatballs over and place them back into the oven for about 15-20 more minutes. Once you take them out they should be cooked through so just cover with foil and set aside.
Meanwhile, turn your oven to “Warm” setting if you have one, or adjust the bake temperature down to 170-175 degrees. Take the plates you will use for this dinner and place them in the oven on the top rack this time. Obviously use real ceramic plates, no plates made of plastic or paper.
Next in a pot large enough to hold everything else heat the olive oil, once that’s really runny toss in the onion, once the onion pieces begin to get a little transparent it’s time now to toss in the bell pepper and minced garlic. Stir it all that around for a few minutes until everything is “sauteed”.
Now it’s time to pour in the whole 32 oz. jar of Rao’s Arrabbiata Marinade Sauce. Stir gently to combine and set the stove temp at medium low setting, close the lid. Once you see that bubbling a bit it’s warming through, so now it’s best to turn the temp on low and keep stirring occasionally.
Place the meatballs back in the warming oven on the top rack, and keep them covered. Now check the noodles by lifting with your hand to make sure they’re not sticking together. If all good, don’t pour anymore water over them, instead shake the colander to make sure they are good and drained.
Once the plates have sat in the warming oven for 20-30 minutes and everything else is done you’re ready to eat. Serve up the noodles on the warmed plates first then pour over the sauce to drown them in Marinara. I usually add three meatballs onto the top, then sprinkle some fresh grated parmesan cheese around and – Viola! Welcome to Italy [well almost]… either way, your taste buds will love you!
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