Spaghetti with Meatballs and a Delicious Chianti

Spaghetti with meatballs. For many of us, one of the ultimate comfort foods. Not so much for me, as I haven't eaten this dish with any regularity since my mom made it for us when I was a kid. But maybe that's one of the things that makes it comfort food - it triggers memories of childhood.

My mother is quite good at many things, but she'll be the first to tell you that cooking is not one of them. Her meatballs were tasty, but they would be unrecognizable to any Italian mother or grandmother - they were probably just ground meat, perhaps a little salt. The meatballs that I now love, the kind you'll find at good red sauce joints, these are an entirely different matter. A great meatball should be light in body, texturally smooth, and well seasoned.

I'm sure there are as many recipes for meatballs as there are for pizza and I make no claim to having the best one, or any sort of secret, or anything like that. I have, however, discovered after many attempts, a method for making a pretty darn good meatball. Here's what I'm talking about, and bear with me through the ingredients. I'll explain later:

-1 pound ground turkey, but dark and white meat, not white meat turkey.
-1 quarter cup dried bread crumbs
-A little more than a quarter cup of fresh bread crumbs.
-1 large egg, beaten
-As much finely chopped parsley as you think is right.
-More finely grated Parmesan than you think is reasonable. Keep going. More.
-Salt. a teaspoon, maybe?
-Freshly ground black pepper.
-A bit of dried oregano, if you like.
-A bit of grated nutmeg.
-A little more than a quarter cup of warm water.

I've tried beef, pork, veal, and turkey in various permutations and never had results as good as with ground turkey. But it has to be good turkey, and it has to have a decent amount of dark meat in there. The fresh breadcrumbs are also key - they keep the meatballs light. The Parmesan, honestly, just put a lot in there. It provides umami, texture, and just tastes good. And lastly, the water. I kept getting these meatballs that tasted good but were completely wrong, way too dense, until I read somewhere that you must add warm water right before mixing everything together. Don't over-mix, and use a fork and your hands - gently. The act of shaping the meatballs will be part of the mixing too.

You're going to get about 6 meatballs here if you make them about 2 inches in diameter, a little more maybe. Brown the meatballs on at least two sides in a hot heavy-bottomed pan. Transfer them to a plate, dump out the oil, add a bit more oil, lower the heat, and fry about two tablespoons of finely chopped onion. There is apparently a big debate about whether to use garlic or onion in tomato sauce - Jeremy Parzen wrote about this recently (although I cannot locate the actual post). For me, it's onions, and only a little bit. Add a can of high quality Italian plum tomatoes (I like San Marzano tomatoes, and I like them peeled and whole because I like to crush them by hand, it just feels good). Add salt and bring to a simmer, then add the meatballs and any juices from the plate. Simmer them for 15-20 minutes and then turn them over so the other side will be submerged in the sauce, and simmer for another 20 minutes. They should be cooked through, but you take one out and test it to make sure.

I like to serve these by cutting them in half, as they're easier to eat that way and they look pretty when you shower them with more Parmesan cheese.

The other night a good pal came over for dinner and I told him that among other things, we'd be eating spaghetti with meatballs. He brought a wine that I'd never heard of, the 2006 Castell'in Villa Chianti Classico, Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates. It should cost something like $25. The wine was immediately attractive to me in that it was very pure and detailed, unadorned with wood or overly extracted fruit. It smelled and tasted like what I know to be Sangiovese from Tuscany. The nose is lovely cherry fruit and also a complex leathery note, and the wine is perfectly balanced, very fresh, and entirely delicious. It is 100% Sangiovese and from what I understand, a traditionally made wine, but in poking around the interweb, I am not able to learn all that much about what they're doing at Castell'in Villa. Please share any of your Castell'in Villa knowledge in the comments.

We drank a little bit of many wines that evening and there was a solid half bottle left over. The next day I took a sip and it was still delicious, although no different from the previous night. But when another friend and I drank the rest of the bottle on day 4, also with spaghetti and meatballs, the wine developed a nice herbal character that I really liked. It was a fantastic wine, something that I will seek out and buy myself without question. And this is a good thing, because as you know from reading this blog, I just don't drink enough Italian wine. Now I have a good Chianti I can buy.