Meatballs come in all sizes and are found in cultures across the world, from the Swedish kottbullar (the giant meatballs popularised by Ikea) and Chinese lion’s heads balls to Spanish albondigas and Vietnamese pho bo vien (noodle soup with meatballs).
But no meatball is as profoundly entrenched in global food culture as spaghetti and meatballs. While the dish is often attributed as being Italian, its origins are actually very much American. In fact, every year on March 9, National Meatball Day is celebrated in the US!
According to an article on Smithsonian.com, spaghetti and meatballs originated as a result of Italian immigration to the US from 1880 onwards. Most of the Italian immigrants who came to America were largely impoverished and from the southern part of Italy, namely Sicily, Calabria, Campania and Abruzzi.
In Italy at the time (and now), meatballs, called polpette, were a staple in many homes, but were significantly smaller than the large American meatballs of today. In fact, in Abruzzi, the meatballs can be no larger than the size of marbles! Made with stale bread and ground meat – which can range from turkey to fish, meatballs in Italy are traditionally served on their own or with soups.
The American version emerged as a result of Italian-Americans’ increasing wealth after they migrated – they could now afford to buy more meat, which is how and why their favourite home-style comfort food of meatballs became larger and larger with the meat to bread ratio tilting severely in favour of more meat.
The tomato-based sauce that the meatballs are drenched in, came about because in the late 19th century and early 20th century, canned tomatoes were readily available and cheap in the US, making a marinara sauce (also dubbed “sailor sauce” for the word mariner) an obvious companion for the meatballs.
The addition of spaghetti was also rooted in how easy it was to get spaghetti at the time (the only pasta available to most Italians then). Many newly established Italian restaurants at the turn of the 20th century also added it to the dish because Americans were used to eating a starch with their meals. Slowly but surely, spaghetti became a firm fixture in the composition of this brand new dish: spaghetti and meatballs.
Since its early days as an Italian-American invention, the appeal of spaghetti and meatball has stretched beyond its American homeland and you’ll find it on the menus of many Italian restaurants outside of Italy.
Making spaghetti and meatballs is also surprisingly quick and easy, which is why it makes for a great family-style meal. The meatballs are traditionally made with ground beef (or any other ground meat), breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, seasoning, onions and garlic and an egg to bind the mixture.
What happens next is a matter of dispute – some recipes advocate for either pan-frying or baking the balls in the oven to sear them, before popping them into the tomato-based sauce to simmer.
Others insist that the original recipe calls for the balls to be tossed straight into the tomato sauce after being moulded. I prefer meatballs that are browned beforehand, so I put them in the oven first, but this part is totally up to you.
After making the sauce, you can opt to toss the spaghetti in the sauce or ladle the sauce and the meatballs on top of the cooked pasta.
Whatever your cooking ability though, you’ll find that spaghetti and meatballs is one of the easiest, most idiot-proof recipes out there. Pellegrino Artusi who published the first modern Italian cookbook in 1891, even said “Don’t think I’m pretentious enough to teach you how to make meatballs. This is a dish that everybody can make.”
SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
Serves 4 to 5
For the meatballs
4 slices white bread, crusts removed, processed until resembles breadcrumbs
milk, to soak the breadcrumbs in
300g minced beef
300g minced lamb (can be replaced with pork)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
a handful of parsley leaves, chopped finely
80g grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil, for drizzling
For the sauce
olive oil, for sauteing
2 large onions, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
150g tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
3 tsp sugar
a handful of parsley leaves
salt to taste
350g spaghetti, cooked
For garnish
a few parsley leaves, chopped
Parmesan cheese, to sprinkle over spaghetti
To make meatballs
In a small plate, soak breadcrumbs in a little bit of milk until absorbed. Set aside for 10 to 15 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, put all the ingredients together, except olive oil, and using your hands, combine everything until fully incorporated and mixture is pliable. Make sure to season well with salt and pepper.
Pre-heat oven to 190°C. Mould mixture into balls (slightly smaller than golf ball-size). You should get 25 to 26 meatballs.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and drizzle with olive oil. Arrange meatballs on baking tray, making sure to leave space between the balls. Drizzle a little more olive oil and leave to bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the balls are golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
To make sauce
In a large pot on medium heat, saute onions until browned. Add garlic and cook until softened – don’t let it blacken. Add canned tomatoes and tomato paste and cook until tomatoes soften and are fully immersed in sauce. Add red wine, sugar and parsley and cook until red wine is absorbed and mixture has thickened. Season with salt to taste. Add meatballs to the sauce and leave to simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
If opting to toss pasta in sauce, add spaghetti to sauce and toss carefully to coat evenly.
To assemble
Place spaghetti on plates. If spaghetti hasn’t been tossed in sauce, ladle sauce over spaghetti. Add a few meatballs to each plate. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese, as desired.
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