Dec 12, 2011

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Lou Di Palo shared his grandmother's recipe for the meatballs that he sells at his family's store, Di Palo's Fine Foods, in New York City. This recipe first appeared in our December 2011 issue along with the special feature Italian America.

Credit: Todd Coleman

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. dried basil
2 28-oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice, crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup sugar
10 oz. ground pork
5 oz. ground beef chuck
5 oz. ground veal
⅓ cup shredded provolone
⅓ cup whole-milk ricotta
¼ cup finely grated parmesan
¼ cup finely grated pecorino, plus more for serving
¾ cup breadcrumbs
3 eggs. lightly beaten
1 lb. spaghetti, cooked
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat 2 tbsp. oil and 3 cloves garlic in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium heat; cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add dried parsley, basil, tomatoes, salt, and pepper; cook for 60 minutes. Add sugar; cook until reduced and thick, about 20 minutes. Mix remaining garlic, pork, chuck, veal, provolone, ricotta, parmesan, pecorino, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, and pepper in a bowl; form into eight 2 ½″ meatballs, about 6 oz. each. Heat remaining oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add meatballs; cook, turning, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to sauce; cook until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve meatballs and sauce over spaghetti; sprinkle with parsley.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #143

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Ratings & Reviews (14)

by SILBIASAN on 2011-12-12

No one in Italy do a pasta like this but I can understand because by now it's an american classic, but the watery sauce in a pasta dish is unacceptable...

by MNANDA on 2011-12-13

Very close to my Italian grandmother's recipe as well - don't forget to deglaze the pan you cook the meatballs in with the sauce - you don't want to let those lovely drippings go to waste... though consider removing excess oil with a spoon if there's too much.

by SBYNYC on 2011-12-14

My rating is based on the photograph in the article (it also appeared in the print magazine) not on the recipe. No self respecting Italian American would accept a plate of pasta or Spagetti with water in the bottom of the dish. In my house that's a sin that's committed only once in a lifetime. The next time you either properly drain the pasta or, a worse offense, properly reheat the sauce (yes, you never get water in the bottom of the dish from a fresh pot of sauce) so that there's no water from either source. For any restaurant to proudly display a picture such as this one or better yet, for your Editors to miss this important fact of Italian American cuisine, causes me to at least wonder and at worst, to pass on a trip to the restaurant. As for the recipe, I have my own.

by QUEENIEFRANCIE on 2012-01-01

For at least 50 years I've gone to De Palo's for cheeses, sometimes meats and breads. Their meatballs are for the tourists and out-of-towners. Typical Italian families in the old neighborhoods on the lower east side would never buy meatballs from someone else! They would be gossiped about and thought to be "che disonora!" And the whole sugar in the sauce thing... no. With the way tomatoes are processed and canned today, they are hardly ever bitter, overly acidic or without flavor, which was the reason for the sugar in the first place if you were using fresh tomatoes. De Palo's has a terrific store with wonderful selections of all things Italian but their meatballs they can keep, along with that pool of watery tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish... ick.

by VIPERGTSRGT1 on 2012-01-01

I'll agree to being grossed-out by the water in the dish, but I found that prepared with a bit of care, it turned out very nicely. No liquid at the bottom either. My family really enjoyed the meal. As a disclaimer, I'm not Italian, nor do I live in New York, so please be gentle with your hateful replies. :)

by SAVEURDAYS on 2012-01-16

I've been meaning to try to recipe since seeing online last month! Finally tried it over the weekend and I thought the meatballs were the best I've ever had. The sauce, however, was too sweet and too thick so I thinned it out with a hand jar of marinara. I also used a LOT more garlic and twice as much oil.

You can read and see my pictures from trying this recipe here:

http://saveurdays.com/2012/01/16/saveur-recipe-5-lou-di-palos-spaghetti-and-meatballs/

I didn't have any issues with water in my pasta at all perhaps because I let my pasta cook in the meatball and sauce for the last 3 minutes of cooking time before plating rather than topping wet pasta with sauce.

by SAVEURDAYS on 2012-01-16

Forgot to give this a rating!

by JAMIE667 on 2012-02-03

I cook and bake very day. I know how to make good Italian food. I make pasta from scratch. This was good and will make again. My sauce had no water at the bottom of my dishes. No one is talking about gossiping for buying meatballs, it is a recipe and a good one. Yes if you have good imported Italian canned tomatoes you will not need to add sugar. In my cabinet last night I had domestic, and they needed some sugar, not the full amount but that is persona preference. I cannot believe the negative reviews on recipes that have not been tried. I made this and I ate it last night, I fed it to my family. They all liked and commented on the meatballs. Thank you Saveur for a good recipe to add to my staples, you are one of my favorites and I look forward to my issue every month.

by NANCYJ on 2012-03-22

We love the meatballs, Unfortunately, we do not live on the east side and cannot visit the restaurant.
Perhaps as the less fortunate we love to have recipes like the one given. I feel the two negative reviews were
not needed. They must have been having a bad day and took their rage out on this review. Neither had made the recipe, so how can a person give a proper review! We use the extra long spaghetti which can only be
bought
at a little italian deli in Minneapolis.
excellent recipe loved the meatballs best we have had. No water in the sauce, used fresh tomatoes and
canned canned and did not add sugar, I love the tomato taste.

by rnelson on 2012-05-10

Good, nothing special.

by MRMEOW on 2013-03-08

Using my own home-canned tomatoes, I cut the sugar by half or less--didn't measure--and cooked to the non-watery consistency desired. My non-Italian, Italian tomato sauce/gravy lovin family raved about the dish and loved, loved, loved the meatballs.

by 5EVE on 2013-03-09

I have tried and eaten a lot of meatball recipes and I must say these are the best meatballs and sauce I have ever had.I really appreciate you sharing the recipe with us.
I don't know how you could leave such negative feedback for something you have not even made/tried. I didn't know we were reviewing the picture :) sounds like someone is VERY jealous to me.The old saying goes if you can't say something nice about someone/something DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL!!
ALL I have to say about the recipe is. I wish I had of found it sooner I would not have wasted my time and energy on other recipes. This one is truly the best and I can't wait to have leftovers TODAY!!!

by 5EVE on 2013-03-09

OOPS didn't see where to leave rating until now. Of course it is 5 STARS

by XPICASSOX on 2013-04-09

I Love DiPalo's .. The place is awesome, and places like DiPalo's, Faicco's, Joe's Dairy, and Raffetto Pasta are the reason I would "Never Set Foot in Eataly" which is fake and contrived, for "Followers" and not for peopel-in-the-know on Italian Food. Eataly is a Clip-Joint Conglomerate and totally no in keeping with the Spirit of Italy and Italian Food as DiPalo's is.
As for this so-called Sunday Sauce, I'm sorry, "This is Not Sunday Sauce" this is sauce for Spaghetti & Meatballs. Sunday Sauce "must Have" at least two meats in it minimum to be called Sunday Sauce, and you can have thre or four meats. If this sauce recipe which is for Spaghetti and Meatballs had Braciole, Sausage, or Beef Neck in it, then it would be Sunday Sauce, but with just the Meatballs only it's not. If anyone wants a really great recipe for Sunday Sauce I would consider checking out "La Tavola" by Daniel Bellino-Zwicke, there's a great Sunday Sauce recipe in there, as well as other Italian-American favorites and great stories on Itaian-American New York ...

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