The Wonderful World of Pasta
Penne pasta, spaghetti, lasagna, and ravioli are excellent pasta to use in various dishes. Unfortunately for many Americans, this is the extent of what most people prepare. There isn’t anything wrong with these classic kinds of pasta. They certainly have their place, but seeing only four or five options when eating out in most areas of the United States neglects the endless varieties available, which can make a pasta dish so much more enjoyable.
If more Italian restaurants in the United States used these extraordinary kinds of pasta, we would be able to sample an array of flavors and textures, then offer a variety of options beyond the typical in our home kitchens.
This post features Bucatini pasta, which, if you haven’t had it in place of spaghetti, you should. It’s time. Bucatini is similar to spaghetti but so much better. It comes in long strands like spaghetti but has a hollow center, allowing the boiling water (and eventually the sauce) to enter the pasta. Even though the dry pasta is about the same size as spaghetti, it plumps and expands when cooked, making Bucatini lighter and airier than spaghetti. Combine this with properly cultivated Italian winter wheat, and the result is a game-changer.
These meatballs are multi-purpose. Cook extra and freeze them.
Thinly sliced garlic is ideal for meatballs (rather than minced). The sliced garlic is milder and softer inconsistency. When cooked into the meat, it melts, offering garlic-rich flavor zones in the meatballs.
Finely chop the onions. I’m using sweet Maui sweet onions (my preference). I like white or sweet onions, though yellow onions are a good option. I save red onions for sandwiches or salads where a sharper flavor is excellent. However, if you have a favorite onion type, use it here.
Heat a skillet with a good quality olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Never scorch or take oil to the smoking point.
Sauté the onions and garlic until very tender but not browned. Remove from the heat once they are soft.
While the onions and garlic cook, season them with ground fennel seed, red pepper flakes, salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
One type of meat is fine for this dish, but I prefer the texture and flavor of mixing two or three types of ground beef, ground pork, or even ground veal (optional). In this image, I’m using fresh ground pork and American Wagyu ground beef.
Once the meat has been mixed thoroughly, season again with ground fennel, red chili flakes, salt, and fresh ground pepper. To add the other ingredients, flatten out the meat in the bottom of a bowl and layer the other ingredients on top. You can see all layers at once (in case you missed something).
Finely chop about 3 tbsp of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley. Curly parsley is fine, but Italian flat parsley has a more robust parsley flavor.
Add the parsley to the seasoning and meat mixture.
In a bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Here I’m using plain bread crumbs, but you can use Italian breadcrumbs or Panko. Sourdough bread will make an even better bread crumb and give your meatballs even more umami.
Add just enough milk to make the breadcrumbs wet and clumpy. Too much will make the meatballs too soft to hold together. If you added too much milk, squeeze out the excess before adding it to the meat mixture.
Add the breadcrumbs and the sautéed, seasoned onion/garlic mixture after it cools slightly.
The next ingredient is cheese. I’m using fresh grated aged Romano here, but you can substitute shredded parmesan, smoked provolone, or even strained ricotta to get rid of excess moisture.
Thoroughly mix all the ingredients, preferably by hand, until well incorporated. To roll the meatballs, use a 4-5 oz ice cream scoop or a 1/3 cup measure, and then move the meatballs. I like to make these more significant than average. The more giant meatballs stay moister when cooking. Plus, you have that wow factor when you plate three large meatballs on the pasta. Some people like to go all out and make gigantic meatballs, serving only one at a time. Again it’s a personal choice. While rolling the meatballs, you may need to keep your hands wet with water so the mixture doesn’t stick to your hands.
Drop the meatballs in plain all-purpose flour. Roll the meatballs lightly through the flour and evenly coat. Gently knock off any excess flour and continue rolling until they are all done. (Note: This technique is optional as well. Sautéing floured meatballs will help them cling to whatever sauce you put with it.)
Floured and rolled meatballs.
Sauté the meatballs in the same pan you used to cook the seasoned onions and garlic over medium to medium-high heat.
Turn the meatballs to cook and give them a brown crust evenly. The crust will help the sauce cling to the meatballs.
Place the meatballs on an oven-safe sheet pan and bake at (350°F or 175°C) for 15- 20 minutes. Cook the meatballs until they reach a temperature of (155°F or 68°C).
Add your favorite Italian red sauce or, better yet, Vecchia Scuola Italiana Salsa Rossa (Old School Italian Red Sauce). Any version will do. I’m using a basic marinara in this image. The sauce now clings to the meatballs, which makes them very tender. Since these meatballs will absorb the sauce, so keep a little extra available if you need it.
To prepare the meatballs and sauce for the pasta, reheat them as you go. In this image, I have three meatballs and about 3/4 cup of sauce. I cook the pasta al dente before adding it to the sauce. It’s essential to cook the sauce into the pasta when it comes out of the boiling water. Never rinse the pasta before adding it to the sauce. The natural starches from the pasta will help the sauce stick to the noodles.
This post features Bucatini pasta, which, if you haven’t had it in place of spaghetti, you should. Thus, even though it starts about the same size as spaghetti, it is noticeable when cooked. You will need 4-5 oz of dried pasta per person for a solo entrée. For a source of good quality, Bucatini, see Shop Ingredients page in this blog.
Add a touch of the water reserved from cooking the pasta. This starchy water will help bind the sauce to the Bucatini.
Cook the pasta al dente pasta into the meatballs in sauce. The pasta will start to absorb the marinara.
Using a pair of tongs, neatly add the pasta to a serving dish.
Top with the meatballs.
Wine pairings: BARBERA D’ALBA 2016 Piedmont, Italy, SUPER CUVÉE 2015 Napa Valley, CA, PINOT NOIR 2017 Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California
Bucatini e Polpette (Bucatini and Meatballs)
Equipment
- chef knife
- cutting board
- large saute pan
- large pot for boiling pasta
- Medium mixing bowl
- sheet pan
- wire cooling rack (optional)
- Tongs
- cheese grater
Ingredients
Traditional Meatballs
- 1 lb beef, ground
- 1 lb pork, ground
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly
- ½ whole onion, grated or finely minced
- 3 tbsp parsley, Italian chopped fine
- 1 tsp pepper, red flakes
- 1 tsp fennel seed, ground
- ½ cup bread crumbs (white or wheat/plain or Italian style) You can substitute Japanese (Panko) bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp milk, whole
- ¾ cup cheese, Parmesean grated/shredded (Pecorino Romano is also a good choice.)
- 1 tsp salt, kosher, or sea
- 1 tsp pepper, black, roughly ground
- 4-5 cups Your Favorite Marinara, Tomato Basil or Vecchia Scuola Italiana Salsa Rossa (Old School Italian Red Sauce)
- 24 oz Bucatini Pasta or your favorite kind
Garnish
- basil, fresh torn
- parsley, Italian, finely chopped
- Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Pecorino Romano
- oil, olive, extra virgin
Instructions
Prep the Ingredients
- Mince the onions and thinly slice the garlic. Prep the minced parsley and measure out the rest of the ingredients, and reserve.
Cook the Aromatics
- To a saute pan, add extra virgin olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the minced onion and thinly sliced garlic.
- Heat a large sauté pan with a good quality olive oil. Bring the olive oil up to the point it shimmers but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and sweat until the mixture is very soft but not colored/caramelized. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Mix the Meat and Seasonings.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the two ground types of meat. Wet both hands with water and mix until thoroughly combined. Once the seasoned meat/pork is thoroughly mixed, add the seasonings (ground fennel, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper).
- Finely chop Italian parsley and add to the seasoned meat mixture.
- In a small bowl, add the breadcrumbs and the milk. With a fork, stir the milk into the bread crumbs. You want the bread crumbs just wet but not soaking in milk. Add this to the seasoned meat mixture. If you add too much milk, squeeze out the excess with your hand before adding to the meat mixture.
- Next, add the reserved onion/garlic mixture to the seasoned meat/parsley/bread crumb mixture.
- Follow this by adding a good quality cheese to the mixture and with your hands. Then (Again, wet your hands with clean water to keep them from sticking.) mix all ingredients until well incorporated.
Cook the Meatballs
- Preheat a large skillet or sauté pan with 3 tbsp of olive oil. Prepare a large sheet pan with a bit of olive oil spreading around with a paper towel, so the meatballs don't stick when cooked.
- Using a 3 oz scoop or, as in my case, a handy ⅓ cup scoop, measure the mixture, then start making the meatballs by rolling them in your hands. Repeat till done.
- Roll each meatball in all-purpose flour and coat evenly, gently shaking off any excess. In batches, add the meatballs to the preheated pan with olive oil and cook until well browned, all the way around. Place the meatballs on a sheet pan and bake in the oven at (350°F or 175°C) for 20 minutes. Cook the meatballs until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees with an instant-read thermometer. Reserve
Serving the Meatballs and Pasta
- Start by cooking the meatballs to the marinara (or your favorite) sauce and heat up briefly in the sauce. Next, prepare a portion of 2-3 meatballs with about ½ cup of pasta sauce in a skillet heated enough to keep warm.
- Cook the pasta to the directions on the package. When the pasta is al dente add it straight into the sauce. Do not rinse. (Save the pasta water to thicken the sauce.)
- Set a portion of the pasta in the center of a serving dish with a set of tongs. Top with meatballs and any extra sauce. Drizzle with a good quality extra virgin olive oil and dust with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, fresh parsley, or basil (optional).