Oatmeal Meatball Pasta

Remember the pasta recipe where I used IKEA meatballs? Chris kind of made fun of me because I didn’t know how to make my own meatballs considering that they were (allegedly) easy to make. Dad told me that  he wanted spaghetti but he was too sleepy and lazy to cook. (Don’t let this statement mislead you, Dad cooks way more often than I do.) Considering that I had a couple of hours before he wakes up, I decided to try making meatballs from scratch.

The first thing I thought was: “$h1*, I don’t have breadcrumbs! ” Google saved me again and informed me that oats would be a healthier substitute for breadcrumbs in meatballs.

For the sauce, I used a variation of Bitch&Bake’s Three Ingredient Tomato Sauce. I wondered if butter is considered unhealthy but when I thought of worse alternatives like hydrogenated oil, lard, and vegetable oil, I happily dropped in the little block of butter.

This is also the first time for me to eat romano cheese with pasta, at least at home and not in a restaurant. There are evil canisters of romano alternatives in the supermarket, which try to convince the buyers that they’re cheap and just as good. Until you notice that there’s a tub of perfectly genuine shredded romano (but made with cow’s milk not ewe’s) beside it that is ironically cheaper than the fake version. *rofl*

My verdict: For a first time effort, it’s not bad at all. I thought it was reeeaally yummy but then I’m horribly biased. Sure, it could probably be better but this isn’t exactly a perfect-product-after-100-tries blog.

Oatmeal Meatballs

1/2 kilogram ground beef (you can use ground turkey or ostrich if you like)
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (or according to your taste)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Knead with your hands until it is mixed thoroughly. Roll into balls and place them on a non-stick pan lightly greased with EVOO.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and bake for another 10 minutes or until the meatballs are lightly browned.

Tomato Sauce Pasta

500 g spaghetti

2 teaspoons EVOO
7 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can (400 g) peeled tomatoes
2/3 stick (70 g) butter
2 medium sized onions, peeled and halved
1 large can (800 g) regular tomato sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
2 teaspoons crushed black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (or according to your taste)

Cook the spaghetti al dente according to package instructions. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, saute the garlic in EVOO over low heat until they’re lightly browned and your kitchen smells wonderful. Add the peeled tomatoes along with the juice in the can and cut them into chunky pieces with your spatula. Drop the butter and onions (face down) in the pan and slowly stir until the butter melts completely. Simmer until you see tiny bubbles rise.

Lower the heat further. Place the meatballs, one by one, in the tomato sauce and cover the saucepan. Let it cook for 20 minutes. Turn the meatballs over gently, cover again and cook for another 10 minutes. Discard the onions.

Increase the heat a little. Pour the tomato sauce into the mixture and stir carefully without messing up the meatballs. After it boils, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the spices and salt, stir, and remove from heat. Serve over pasta. Top with shredded/grated romano cheese.

[print recipe]