and the secret to the perfect tomato sauce and meatballs issss...

spaghetti and meatballs - done time and time again - boring right?  quite the contrary oh foodie lovers and friends for this dish is straight from my nonnas kitchen.  What makes it so special you might ask? For anyone that has had a tomato sauce straight out of an old italian womans kitchen, you may notice something distinctly different from most sauces you taste.  You also may have noticed that most of them cook their tomato sauce for hours upon hours on end (contrary to some of the more contemporary sauce makers such as the scarpetta spaghetti I posted a while ago).  Well - this blog will answer all these questions for you.  The secret my friend?  They cook a piece of red meat IN the sauce the entire time.  I'm not talking about dropping in the meatballs, or making a bolognese - i mean taking a piece of steak and dropping that baby whole into your pot of simmering tomato sauce.  THIS my friends - will give it that extra something we all wondered about for so long (or was that just me?)...

You will need: (serves 4)
For the sauce:
2 - 28 oz cans of san marzano tomatoes
1 head of garlic (peeled and chopped)
1 large spanish onion (chopped)
large handful of fresh basil
3/4 cup of tomato paste
1 piece of red meat (could be a striploin, a cut of ribeye, whatever you want)
salt to taste
EVOO
500g spaghetti


For the meatballs:
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground veal
1 spanish onion & 5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped and cooked until soft)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tbsp dried oregano
2-3 tbsp dried or fresh Italian parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
** note you will have some extra meatballs - unless you are hubs and u eat everything**

To begin let's get the sauce going.  Drop a couple tbsp's of EVOO into a large pot and sweat your onions and garlic until soft over medium high heat.  Add the two cans of san marzano tomatos and bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer.  Using a hand mixer - puree the tomatoes using a pulse.  Cover.

Season your piece of meat with salt and pepper and in a fry pan on high heat, sear it on both sides until just golden brown (1 minute per side).  Place the meat into your sauce, add your basil, cover and let simmer (total cook time will be about 3 - 3 1/2 hours)

Now move on to your meatballs.  Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and work it all together with your hands.  Do this for several minutes - you want to realllyyyyy make everything super tender, moist and cohesive.  Form meatballs about the size of a golf ball and set aside.  In a large fry pan (working in batches so you do not crowd the meatballs) on medium high heat - sear the meatballs in EVOO on all sides until lightly golden brown.  As each meatball sears, move them to a plate lined with paper towel.  Set the batch aside when complete.  When you have about 2 hours left on your sauce until the 3.5 hour mark - drop in all your meatballs to the sauce and add your tomato paste.  Give everything a good stir and let the whole mixture continue to cook for 2 hours (longer will not hurt it!).

When you are ready to eat - cook up your pasta to al dente in a pot of boiling salted water.  At this point your sauce should be nice and thick, the meatballs will be fluffy and the piece of meat should be so tender it may even fall into pieces in the sauce (yum).

Ladel out some sauce over the spaghetti and stir, then plate each portion with some extra sauce and some meatballs.

Serve & Enjoy :)

xo Chef Natty

Seared Filet Mignon with Creamy Butter Beans, Leeks & Creme Fraiche

For someone who is a die hard steak and mash fan - the fact that I am even suggesting to pair a nice filet with something other than a classic mashed potato must mean this one is a keeper.  I am all about "the perfect bite" when it comes to red meat.  A little bite of steak, the perfect amount of jus, a little butter or garlic mashed potato - maybe a little creamed spinach... mmmmmm.  This recipe, however, brings a whole new spin on a meat and starch combo.  The creamy butter beans are the perfect compliment to the meat.  Mix it all together with some savory leeks which add a great texture, and the creamy and slightly tart creme fraiche and you've got a combo to die for.

Ingredients: serves 2

2 leeks, washed, trimmed and finely sliced
a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
4 garlic cloves (chopped)
EVOO
1 stick of butter
2 cups white wine
500g tinned or jarred butter beans, drained and rinsed
a small handful of freshly Italian parsley, finely chopped
1/3 cup crème fraîche
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 filet steaks
1 lemon

In a large pan, heat some EVOO on medium heat and then add your leeks, thyme, garlic and butter and let the mixture sweat for about 20 minutes (until they are soft and sweet).  Turn up the heat and add the white wine and bring to a boil.  Add the beans and a small splash of water (the beans should be almost all covered with liquid.  Simmer for 10 minutes until the beans are nice and creamy.  Add your parsley, creme fraiche and a splash of EVOO.  Taste for seasoning.  Keep heat on low.


Heat a separate pan until searing hot.  Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper and then lightly pat evenly with some EVOO.  Cook the steaks to your temperature preference (i suggest medium rare).  For medium rare it will be approximately 4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the steaks.  Remove them from the pan and let rest for 5 minutes to let the meat rest and the juices run back in.  Squeeze with some lemon juice and drizzle with some EVOO.  Carve in thick slices and plate over the butter bean mixture.  Drizzle with some of the steak juices - serve & enjoy!


xo


Chef Natty

an old faithful... and a 1212 special: Penne with Spinach & Goat Cheese

We've all been there.  University student...living with roommates, and too busy with exams and/or partying to buy groceries.  In this case my lovely ladies of apartment 1212 and I would usually resort to a couple old faithful dishes - this one being the most "gourmet" thing we could throw together with what we had in the kitchen.  The other dishes mostly were made up of canned tuna, a jar of hot peppers one of us had brought to London from their Nonna, chickpeas or a wheel of brie baked in a toaster oven (fancy stuff, i know).  Nevertheless, this pasta creation is a great quick dish, perfect for any novice chef.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
3 cups assorted mushrooms (sliced)
4 heaping handfuls of spinach (roughly chopped)
1 spanish onion (sliced thinly)
1 head of garlic (chopped)
1/3 cup goat cheese (plus more for sprinkling)
1 cup kernel corn (optional)
crushed pine nuts (optional)
Parmesan cheese
EVOO
salt and pepper
450g penne

In a large pan, heat up some EVOO on medium high heat and add your onions and garlic.  Saute until soft and fragrant (do not brown).  In a seperate pan, add a drop of EVOO on medium high heat and add your mushrooms (do not crowd) and cook until lightly brown on both sides.  While the mushrooms are browning, add your spinach to the onion mixture.  Once the spinach has wilted and the mushrooms are browned sprinkle them with salt and pepper and then add the mushrooms and the goat cheese to the onion mixture and stir everything together.  If you are using the corn and pine nuts - add them as well.  Turn down the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add your cooked penne and stir.

Plate each dish and serve with a generous amount of parmesan cheese and some extra goat cheese.

serve & enjoy!

xo
Chef Natty