This is one of the classics that I learned to cook and to love while living in the US. The recipe my hostmom gave to me came without a sauce so I combined the meatball recipe with the sauce that my grandma taught me.

Ingredients – meatballs:
1.25 lbs ground turkey
1.25 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup bread crmubs
1 package onion soup mix

Ingredients – sauce:
3 beef tomato (the big ones)
1-3 tbsp flour
1/2 quart vegetable broth
1 tbsp olive oil
spices and herbs

Spaghetti (as many as needed)

I like to start with the sauce – if you don’t have the time to make it yourself help yourself to a jar of marinara sauce. Boil some water and let the tomatoes „soak“ in it. After about ten minutes the peel should start to crack and you can drain the water. Peel the tomatoes, dice them and put them and the olive in a small pot. Let simmer at medium heat and when hot carefully whisk in a table spoon of flour (until it isn’t lumpy anymore). Let it simmer and thicken. Then add some of the prepared broth. Add some more broth and whisk in another tablespoon of flour. Repeat until you have the desired amount and consistency. Always whisk thoroughly, because it burns easily while thickening. To increase the „tomatoeiness“ I like to stir in some tomato paste. Regarding spices I add oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and paprika.

Mix the ingredients for the meatballs thoroughly and form meatballs (consider that they will probably shrink somewhat while cooking). Place them in a hot frying pan and fry them on high heat till crispy on both sides. I usually don’t cook them through, but after giving them the crust, I add the sauce and let them cook for 10-15 minutes. Boil some water and cook as many spaghettis as needed.

This should serve about four people, but might vary according to the quality of the meat.

Tip: I like to add some goat cream cheese and / or curry paste to the tomato sauce to give it a refined flavour. If you like you could also add for example roasted pine nuts or ricotta.

Enjoy!!

XOXO

Sarah

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