Spaghetti and Meatballs

"I don't remember having spaghetti and meatballs as a child at home; we had polpette, which had the shape of crab cakes. Spaghetti and meatballs, on the other hand, is a big Italian American dish, a cuisine born out of the early Italian immigrants adapting to the New World." -Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup pasta mixture, 1/2 cup sauce, and 3 meatballs)

Ingredients

• Sauce:
• 5  (14.5-ounce) cans no salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  bay leaves
• 
  Meatballs:
• 1  (1-ounce) slice white bread
• 1/3  cup  (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4  cup  milk
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  pound  ground sirloin
• 2  garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1  large egg white
• Cooking spray
• 
  Remaining ingredients:
• 1  pound  uncooked spaghetti
• 1/3  cup  (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

To prepare sauce, place half of the tomatoes in a food processor, and process until smooth. Pour pureed tomatoes into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining tomatoes.

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion; cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in pureed tomatoes, red pepper, salt, black pepper, and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves. Keep warm.

To prepare meatballs, preheat oven to 400°. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup cheese, and the next 7 ingredients (cheese through egg white). Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) meatballs, and place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until done. Add meatballs to sauce; cook over low heat 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta; return to pot. Spoon about 2 cups tomato sauce (leaving meatballs in pan) into pasta, and toss well to coat. Transfer pasta mixture to a platter; top with remaining sauce and meatballs. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

449 (25% from fat)

Fat:

12.5g (sat 4.9g,mono 5.1g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

27.4g

Carbohydrate:

58.3g

Fiber:

4.9g

Cholesterol:

50mg

Iron:

4.8mg

Sodium:

633mg

Calcium:

239mg