Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten
For the Meatballs:
1/2 lb. ground veal
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1 C fresh white bread crumbs
1/4 C seasoned dry bread crumbs
2 T chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 extra large egg, beaten
Vegetable oil
Olive oil
For the Sauce:
2 T olive oil
1 whole white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 C good red wine, such as Chianti (I used a Malbec, as this is my favorite wine)
2 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 T chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
3 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
For Serving:
1 1/2 lbs. spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
DIRECTIONS
For the Meatballs:
Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg and 3/4 C water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2" meatballs. You will have 14-16 meatballs.
Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large 12" skillet (I used a large Dutch oven) to a depth of 1/4". Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium heat, turning carefully with a spatula or fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil bud don't clean the pan.
For the Sauce:
Heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper.
Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 25-30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan cheese!