pasta with bacon garlic marinara and homemade meatballs

Tomato season is coming to an end, a time which, for me, is bittersweet. I am at the same time sad that I'll have to wait another ten months for full-flavored, raw tomatoes to grace my plate, and pleased that this sign brings Autumn (and the cooler weather that comes with her) just a little bit closer. To remedy these mixed feelings, I've been making and canning lots and lots of sauce. The ritual of washing dozens and dozens (and dozens x10) of tomatoes, passing them through the Sauce Master (best. tool. ever. thanks Joe!), and cooking the resulting puree down to half its original volume with onions, garlic, peppers, and herbs has been a weekly routine since mid-July. It brings me great pleasure to know that soon, when the air is brisk and the leaves have fallen, we'll be able to tap into a bit of Summer with one of the 30+ pints of marinara we've got stored away.

And, what better accompaniment to homemade tomato marinara than homemade meatballs? It had been awhile since the last time we made meatballs at home, but I'm thinking (and know that Brian agrees) that they should make a more regular appearance on our menu.  They are so easy, and for us the epitome of comfort food when paired with fresh pasta and rich sauce. It may seem odd to have made a dish so warm and hearty during the heat of mid-August, but to me seemed an appropriate invitation for Autumn to hurry herself along.

Even if you're not set up to can tomato sauce, I still recommend doubling or tripling the sauce recipe and freezing the leftovers. And, while you're at it, go ahead and double the meatball recipe, too. They freeze well, and will be so delicious with the extra sauce come October...

Pasta with Bacon Garlic Marinara and Homemade Meatballs

sauce by Bella Eats, meatball recipe from Bon Appetit, October 2010

serves 4

Marinara Ingredients

• 2 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 6 large heirloom tomatoes (about 3 pounds), blanched, peeled, and cored (keep the seeds) 
• salt + pepper

Meatball Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French or country-style bread
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 8 ounces ground beef (15% fat)
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 1 cup finely ground (not grated) Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large garlic cloves, pressed

To serve

• 1 pound of fresh pasta (we love linguini)
• parmesan cheese

Method

1. First, get the sauce going (it will take about 2 hours). Saute the bacon in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over high heat until starting to brown.  Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper and saute for an additional 2 minutes, stirring pretty constantly. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you put them into the pot, and scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer.  Let simmer for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Immediately start the meatballs once sauce is simmering. Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a small bowl, stirring until breadcrumbs are evenly moistened. Let stand for 10 minutes. 
3. Place beef and pork in a large bowl and break into small clumps. Add the parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper. 
4. Whisk together the eggs and the garlic cloves in another small bowl. Pour over meat mixture. 
5. Using your hands, squeeze the excess milk from the breadcrumbs, reserving the milk. Add the breadcrumbs to the meat mixture. Using your hands, quickly and gently mix all ingredients together until everything is evenly distributed, taking care to not overmix. Chill at least 15 minutes and up to one hour.
6. Moisten your hands with the excess milk, then roll the meat into golfball-size balls. You should have about 16 meatballs.
7. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the sauce to the desired consistency. Return to a wide, shallow saucepan and bring back to a simmer. Add the meatballs in a single layer, and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through. You'll want to turn them about halfway through, but be careful not to break them apart before they are ready to move.
8. Cook pasta and drain. Remove meatballs from sauce. Add pasta to sauce pan and toss to coat. Serve with meatballs and shredded parmesan cheese.

classic lasagna with mushrooms

I really like cookbooks. Sit me down on the couch with a glass of wine, sticky notes, and a thick book full of beautiful and evocative culinary images and I am one happy girl. Dissecting recipes can entertain me for hours, methods and timing dancing through my head as I imagine this ingredient melded with that one. But it is a very special book that holds my attention for the space between recipes, where the author's true voice emerges in the stories behind the dishes compiled. When my stepfather, Joe, handed me his copy of The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and said "You can borrow it, but only for a little while. And you MUST read the chapter about tomatoes." I had a feeling it would be just that kind of book. I immediately curled up in the corner of my parents' L-shaped couch and sank into that tomato chapter, which begins like this:

"I must begin this chapter with a confession: There is nothing, absolutely nothing that pleasures me more than a bowl of pasta and tomato sauce. When I want to reach out with all my love to my husband, a dish of pasta and tomatoes is almost always in my hands. When I am worn out and the world isn't such a nice place to be in, I make tomato sauce and pasta. When time is short but dear friends must be fed with joy and not pressure, I make pasta with tomato sauce. Never are any two of these pastas alike, because for me, this is the food of instinct." 

Lynn Rossetto Kasper, The Italian Country Table

And...I was hooked. My own copy arrived back home in Virginia the very next week and I immediately began plotting an "Italian Month" on Bella Eats. It didn't happen because, well, life got busy, but we've cooked and loved several of the recipes and I've very much enjoyed getting lost in the spaces between them. 

I made this lasagna last month for very good friends we hadn't seen in many weeks and I must say, it was the perfect dish for a mini-reunion. Simple ingredients create a complex marriage of flavors and textures that you just can't stop eating. We sat around our table for hours catching up, the pan of lasagna between us enticing each of us to a second serving.

The pasta, cheese, and canned tomatoes were purchased at our local pasta shop, Mona Lisa Pasta. It shouldn't be a problem for you to find them in most grocery stores, but do seek out the highest quality cheeses and tomatoes you can.  The simplicity of this lasagna allows their flavors to shine. I did a little happy dance when those sheets of fresh pasta were brought out to me in the shop, soft and supple and brushed with semolina. I'd been contemplating making my own, but with limited time was pleased to have this option. If you can, use fresh pasta, but if not dried will do as well.

Also, the sauce is delicious. It is worth keeping a can of san marzano tomatoes in your pantry for an emergency batch of fresh sauce whenever it may be needed.

I followed the recipe in The Italian County Table almost exactly, adding only the mushrooms.

Home-Style Lasagna with Mushrooms (optional)

from The Italian Country Table

serves 8-12

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

• 3 tightly packed tablespoons each fresh basil and Italian parsley leaves
• 1tsp fresh oregano leaves
• 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp fruity extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pint basket (3/4 pound) flavorful cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes

Lasagna Ingredients

• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1-3/4 to 2 pounds high-quality, creamy ricotta cheese
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 8 scallions, trimmed of root ends
• 2 tightly packed tbsp fresh basil leaves
• 1 tightly packed tbsp fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 tsp fresh oregano leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium large onion, cut vertically into strips about 1/4 inch wide
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (optional)
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound dried lasagna pasta (or, homemade pasta. or, if you're very lucky, fresh pasta from your local pasta shop.)

Method

1. Prepare the tomato sauce by mincing together the herbs and chopped onions.  Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute the onions and herbs to golden brown.  Add the garlic and cook a few seconds, then stir in the cherry tomatoes and the canned ones with their juices, crushing them with your hands as they go into the pan.  Boil, uncovered, over high heat until thick, stirring often.  Add the water and cook a few moments more.  Stir in the sugar and season with salt and black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Cool briefly, then pass the sauce through a food mill or puree in a processor or blander.  Cover and set aside.
2. Holding pack 2 tbsp of the parmesan, blend the cheese in a bowl.  Mince together the scallions, basil, parsley, oregano, and garlic.  Stir into the cheeses, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Toss the onion strips and mushrooms with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Heat a saute pan over high and saute until the onion is starting to brown and the mushrooms have released their liquid. Turn out of the pan.
4. If you're using dried pasta, cook in fiercely boiling water, stirring often, until barely al dente (it should be underdone). Drain in a colander and hold in a bowl of cold water.  Fresh pasta does not need to be cooked.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil a shallow 2-1/2-quart baking dish. Drain the pasta and pat dry. Moisten the bottom of the dish with sauce. Cover with a single layer of pasta. Daub with one quarter of the cheese mixture and one quarter of the browned onions + mushrooms. Moisten with one sixth of the remaining sauce. Top with a layer of pasta and continue layering, topping the fifth layer of pasta with the remaining sauce. Cover lightly with foil.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle with the reserved 2 tbsp parmesan. Let rest 10 minutes in the turned-off oven with its door open, then serve.