This was classic spaghetti and meatballs with fresh tomato marinara sauce.
Because
Pasta all'Amatriciana made with fresh summer tomatoes was so good, we bought more fresh summer tomatoes from a local farm stand so that we could make more sauce for pasta. This time, simple marinara sauce was J's request. He also requested classic meatballs along with the sauce. He specifically told me meatballs would be not cooked in the sauce. Meatballs and marinara sauce should be separated during cooking and they would meet each other in the plate. Alright, I understood.
Usually meatballs are browned in the pan or oven first and fully cooked in the sauce by simmering them. This time I fully cooked meatballs in the oven, which were simple and easy. The recipe for the meatballs were from Cook's Illustrated. I skipped prosciutto, which was for extra meatiness. Mixture of ground beef and pork was enough meaty, so I think it was unnecessary after all. Interestingly, the recipe called for gelatin powder, which was "to plump the meatballs and lent them a soft richness". The meatballs were crispy outside and tender inside. I guess that was due to gelatin as well as other ingredients like bread crumbs. The rich meatballs went very well with simple fresh tomato sauce and thin spaghetti. J said this was the BEST spaghetti and meatballs. I was so happy to hear that!
