Spaghetti and Meatballs

Directions

Heat olive oil in 4 to 5 quart pot on medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer or until fragrant. Add the carrots and mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste concentrate, stir to blend, and cook for a minute longer. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, and parsley. Mash and stir the tomatoes with a potato masher until the sauce starts to thicken, about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently while preparing meatballs, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, mix by hand the beef, Italian sausage, basil, parsley, mushrooms, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper. Do not over-mix or the meatballs will be tough. Use small melon baller to form 1-inch round meatballs. Roll and compress into tight balls.

In a separate wide, shallow pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Brown meat balls on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes. Depending on pan size you may need to brown two batches of the meatballs. Cook them in a single layer; do not crowd the pan by stacking them. Do not overcook the meatballs; they will continue to cook in the sauce. You just want to brown them on all sides. Towards the end of browning the meatballs, add a little bit of red wine to deglaze the pan.

Add the red wine to the sauce and stir in the cheese. Add salt to taste. Add meatballs and gently stir. Simmer the sauce and meatballs for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot with 4 quarts of salted water in it to a boil . When the water returns to a boil add the pasta to the pot. Leave the pot uncovered while you cook the pasta on high heat with a vigorous boil. Put a timer on for 8 to 10 minutes, or according to package directions for al dente pasta . Drain.

To serve, place thin layer of sauce on plate, add pasta, add sauce and meatballs, and then sprinkle with grated Parmesan-Romano cheese.