14 November 2011


After doing Thanksgiving-y dishes all last week, it's kind of nice blogging about something completely different.  Unless you are Italian, spaghetti would be the last thing on your Thanksgiving table.  I saw this recipe in Real Simple and couldn't wait to try it.  Bacon in meatballs?  Awesome.


Spaghetti With Bacon Meatballs


Ingredients:
¼ cup onion, chopped
3 slices bacon, very coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 lb. ground beef
½ cup grated Parmesan (2 oz.), plus more for garnish
3 tbsp bread crumbs
1 egg
½ tsp salt
12 oz. spaghetti 
3 cups marinara sauce


Directions
Preheat oven to 400°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. 


In a food processor, combine the onion, bacon, and garlic; pulse until finely chopped, 10 to 15 times. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the beef, Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, and salt; mix gently to combine.


Form the beef mixture into 16 meatballs (about 2 tbsp each) and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.


Cook the pasta according to the package directions.


Heat the marinara sauce in a large skillet over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes; add the meatballs and toss gently to coat. Serve over the pasta and sprinkle with the shaved Parmesan.


Makes 4 servings.

So I wasn't really sure how these were going to turn out.  Honestly, I thought the bacon wouldn't be that noticeable wrapped up in all that beef.  But I was wrong.  The bacon gives a nice smokiness to the meatballs. The texture isn't that noticeable, but the flavor definitely is.

I didn't use a food processor; I just chopped up my onions very finely and grated my garlic and mixed everything together by hand.  That works just fine.

These were a huge hit with my family.  It's a nice change from the usual.  I wouldn't make them every time we have spaghetti (I usually use ground beef instead of meatballs), but I will definitely make them again every once in a while for a change of pace.


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5 comments:

  1. Not sure how I missed this recipe in Real Simple. These look like a wonderful twist on a family friendly classic.

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  2. is the bacon added raw to the meat mixture?

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  3. Yep. Sounds weird, I know, but turns out really good.

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  4. Came to yor blog to find out if it was one egg or two per your post on Real Simple.  By the way, they added the1 egg~  Many thanks.  Will try it soon.

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  5. Good, I'm glad they noticed their mistake and fixed it. Thanks for clicking on over!

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