Cooking Light - Spaghetti and Meatballs

This is by far one of my most favorite Cooking Light recipes. Easy, simple and the whole family will love it!

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup pasta mixture, 1/2 cup sauce, and 3 meatballs)

Ingredients:

Sauce:
5 (14.5-ounce) cans no salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves

Meatballs:

1 (1-ounce) slice white bread

1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound ground sirloin

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 large egg white

Cooking spray

Remaining ingredients:

pound uncooked spaghetti

1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

1. To prepare sauce, place half of the tomatoes in a food processor, and process until smooth. Pour pureed tomatoes into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining tomatoes.
2. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion; cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in pureed tomatoes, red pepper, salt, black pepper, and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves. Keep warm.
3. To prepare meatballs, preheat oven to 400°. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Combine breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup cheese, and the next 7 ingredients (cheese through egg white). Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) meatballs, and place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until done. Add meatballs to sauce; cook over low heat 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
4. Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta; return to pot. Spoon about 2 cups tomato sauce (leaving meatballs in pan) into pasta, and toss well to coat. Transfer pasta mixture to a platter; top with remaining sauce and meatballs. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 449
• Calories from fat: 25%
• Fat: 12.5g
• Saturated fat: 4.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 5.1g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.6g
• Protein: 27.4g
• Carbohydrate: 58.3g
• Fiber: 4.9g
• Cholesterol: 50mg
• Iron: 4.8mg
• Sodium: 633mg
• Calcium: 239mg

Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Cooking Light
OCTOBER 2003