JOHN CHUCKMAN ORIGINAL RECIPE: SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
Always a favorite dish of mine. My ideal was what was served
at a charming little Italian restaurant called Manzo’s on Chicago’s North Side
in the 1960s. It was a sweet little place with checkered table cloths and Chianti-bottle
candles on the tables. With subdued light and candles and family-like staff, it
had a homey, friendly atmosphere I quite loved.
The spaghetti and meatballs came as a large plate of pasta
covered with thick tomatoey sauce and two large meatballs, the size of small
fists, on top. I never ordered anything else. Just its appearance was
mouth-watering. That memory was my guide over the years in developing a recipe.
Squeeze sweet Italian sausages out of their casings into a
bowl. Match with an equal amount of ground beef.
Add a generous amount of breadcrumbs - preferably Panko and
salt and pepper to taste.
Two whole large eggs. Hand-squeeze the mixture until is homogenised.
Form into very large meatballs and sauté in in a frypan
until golden on all sides. My favorite method is to use two forks, turning the
meatballs frequently.
When browned, carefully drop them into a pot of simmering
red sauce (see my recipe). For spaghetti and meatballs, I prefer the sweeter version
of the sauce. Simmer slowly for a good hour.
Serve two meatballs and a generous drizzle of sauce top of a
small mountain of al dente spaghetti.
Sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan and serve with my garlic bread and
glasses of dry red wine.
Note: the meatballs also work nicely with a generous dollop
of the garlic puree prepared (below) for garlic bread, but I prefer not using
the garlic for spaghetti and meatballs.
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JOHN CHUCKMAN ORIGINAL RECIPE: GARLIC BREAD
Place several large, peeled buds of fresh garlic in a mortar-and-pestle.
Sprinkle with a bit of salt, which adds flavor and gives the
texture needed for successfully crushing the garlic.
Smash the garlic thoroughly, and add to some olive oil or
other oil. I find simple Canola oil works nicely. It is my go-to basic cooking
oil.
Generously paint this mixture onto slices of thickly-cut
baguette or other crusty bread and set on a cookie sheet lined with parchment
paper.
Place in a 375-degree oven until just lightly golden. Serve
immediately.
An option is to sprinkle each piece of coated bread with
some freshly-ground Parmesan before baking. I like it both ways, but prefer it
without cheese to accompany spaghetti and meatballs.
