Tomato Sorbet

Once again tomatoes were the main ingredient in my latest experiment. Tomatoes are very sweet which make it a great ingredient to put into a sorbet.

For the final plating I had three main items I used. Two of the items contained tomatoes and the other was a baked item. The recipes for all three of the ideas came from Johnny Iuzzini’s cookbook Dessert Fourplay.

The tomato sorbet was an excellent piece to the plate. The only problem I had with it was the sweetness factor. A single scoop of the sorbet was delicious but it’s not something you would sit down and eat a pint of.

The roasted tomatoes were a very interesting item to put on a dessert. At first I was skeptical it would work with the dish, but in the end I was rather pleased. When you first bite down on the roasted tomato is explodes in your mouth. The tomatoes were tossed in honey, olive oil and salt, and then roasted for two hours and fifteen minutes at one hundred and seventy five degrees (convection).

In my opinion the streusel played a major part in the overall dish. The streusel was sweet with a nice almond taste. The sorbet and streusel together were absolutely amazing. The sweetness of the streusel cut through the sorbet, therefore affecting the whole dish.

The recipe calls for almond flour which is rather expensive and hard to find. To make your own almond flour just put some sliced almonds in the food processor. The secret to making almond flour is not heating the almonds up, unless you want almond butter. So hit the pulse button for around five seconds and then let it stand for thirty seconds and repeat until the mixture is a fine powdery consistency.

This experiment uses an ingredient most people wouldn’t associate with dessert but it works rather well.


















Sweet Tomato Sorbet, Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Streusel, Basil


















Sweet Tomato Sorbet, Cylinder of Streusel, Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Basil


















Sweet Tomato Sorbet, Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Streusel, Basil

Tomato Sauce

As with the strawberries, tomatoes are in abundance around my house. So with my next few experiments I decided to use homegrown tomatoes as the base.

Last September I bought Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Cookbook. I made the tomato sauce back then so I decided to do it again. When I made it the first time I didn’t use an immersion blender at the end, causing it to be slightly chunky. So this time I let it cool down, then used the immersion blender to finely purée the sauce.

The recipe itself is rather simple. The only challenge would be if you don’t know what a Bouquet garni is. The process for making one is rather simple; just get your parsley, thyme and basil. Cut a little kitchen twine and tie the twine around the herbs, that’s it.

A lot of magazines and Food Network shows tell you to put sugar in tomato sauce. In my opinion, that’s absolute crap unless your goal is to make Chef Boyardee. Tomatoes are naturally sweet and will take care of the sauce themselves.

The recipe suggested cooking the sauce for thirty to forty five minutes. In reality it took exactly one hour for the sauce to obtain the right flavor. If you would only cook it for thirty minutes the sauce wouldn’t mature and it probably wouldn’t taste very good.

Recipe

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced finely
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 pounds sweet, ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Bouquet garmi of parsley, thyme and basil springs

Warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and let it sizzle for half a minute. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and salt, and add the herb springs, bundled together with kitchen twine.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the flame to low. Simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 30 to 45 minutes; it will thicken as it cooks. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Taste for salt and adjust. For a refined sauce, pass through a food mill or purée in a blender.


















Chopped Tomatoes, Bouquet garni, Minced Garlic, Salt

Strawberries

This time of year many foods we have an abundance of, like strawberries. Strawberries are the perfect treat, sweet and juicy but yet good for you. Cooking seasonally also shows that you can change with whatever ingredients you have.

For my last experiment I decided to do a plate comprised of five components. Three of the items contained strawberries but in the final plating’s strawberries didn’t dominant the dish. The ideas and recipes for the ice cream, leather, shortbread and whipped cream came from Johnny Iuzzini’s recent cookbook Dessert Fourplay. The idea for the strawberry and rhubarb pâte de fruit came from the site Tartelette.

Upon making the pâte de fruit, I had one main problem, I couldn’t find liquid pectin. At first I thought of using Gelatin but then decided that wouldn’t work. So finally I went to the store and bought dry pectin, thinking I could convert it into liquid pectin. I mixed the whole box of dry pectin with ¾ cup water and brought it to a boil over medium heat. This worked and I added two tablespoons of the liquid to the pâte de fruit.

The shortbreads turned out perfectly. In the final plate the shortbreads played a big role, which I was surprised by. In the recipe it said the cooking time would be around four to five minutes but in reality mine took around ten minutes to achieve the golden brown color.

Possibly the best part of the dish was the strawberry ice cream. Previously in my ice cream making experiments I’d used stabilizers but this one turned out perfectly without any stabilizer. Johnny Iuzzini also uses an immersion blender right before you put the mixture into the ice cream maker which I greatly like. It makes the ice cream slightly lighter and much easier to scoop.

The strawberry leather was very unique. The texture resembled a fruit rollup but had the taste of strawberry jam. The recipe called for lavender, which would’ve added a sweet aroma but I decided to opt out on it. The leather took around six hours at one hundred and twenty five degrees (convection) to complete.

Together all the components of the dish faired nicely with each other. At first glance I thought some might clash but I was wrong.



































Leather Strawberry Cylinder, Crème Fraîche Whipped Cream,Strawberry and Rhubarb Pâte de Fruit, Shortbread, Strawberry Ice Cream, Micro Mint


















Strawberry Ice Cream, Shortbread,Crème Fraîche Whipped Cream,Strawberry Leather,Slice of Strawberry and Rhubarb Pâte de Fruit, Micro Mint


















Leather Strawberry Roll,Shortbread, Strawberry Ice Cream, Crème Fraîche Whipped Cream, Strawberry and Rhubarb Pâte de Fruit, Mint

Basil Infused Olive Oil Ice Cream

Olives were the base of recent dessert. The dessert was comprised of basil infused olive oil ice cream, a Mediterranean olive tuile and a variety of fruits. Once again I came up with a variety of plating options for the final product.

The ideas for both recipes came from Michael Laiskonis of Le Bernadin in New York City. While making the items I changed the recipes several times to modify the end product. Usually I follow recipes pretty tight but these two were great base recipes that allowed for personal interpretation.

The olive oil ice cream was good but if I make it again I’ll reduce the amount of fromage Blanc to make the frozen product a little more malleable.

The ice cream had two main flavors, olive oil and basil. The recipe called for two hundred grams of olive oil, which could overpower the basil flavor if the extra virgin olive oil has a strong flavor, which mine did. So I decided to only use sixty five grams of olive oil. This is one reason why it’s always a good idea to taste your recipe before dumping an ingredient completely in.

The olive tuile turned out perfectly in the end. I used kalamata olives in the tuile giving it a darker color. To get the tuile to turn thinner and somewhat transparent, I had to add three times the amount of glucose syrup that it called for in the original recipe.

For the final plating I formed a few of the tuile’s into miniature “taco shells” and “cannoli’s”. Then I diced up some strawberries and mango to put in the “tacos”. To finish the plate off I put a blueberry leaf on the plate.

With a few minor changes I could see this plate becoming great.


Black Olive “Taco” Tuile

































Strawberries, Mango, Basil, Olive Oil Infused Fromage Blanc Ice Cream, Mango Purée

Fromage Blanc Ice Cream Infused with Basil & Olive Oil
















Mediterranean Olive “Cannoli”, Strawberries, Mango, Dark Cherries, Julienne of Basil.

Fruit Compote with Mango Coulis
































Olive Oil Infused Fromage Blanc Ice Cream, Mediterranean Olive Tuile with Orange Zest, Basil

Cornography

Corn sorbet and classic madeleines was my last experiment. While working with these two things I came up with a few different plating options. Each was very different and I ended up with many great ideas for the future.

The idea for the corn sorbet came from Michael Laiskonis and his workbook site but the classic madeleines recipe came out of the famous Larousse Gastronomique. Once the components of a dish are made then I get to come up with the different plating options, which is always interesting.

Both the corn sorbet and the madeleines turned out nicely. The sorbet was slightly lighter than my previous experiment with balsamic vinegar ice cream but that is expected. The sorbet had an interesting flavor to it. The sweetness of the corn came through nicely but I think I lost a lot of the flavor straining it, but it is a necessary process.

The madeleines were perfect, moist and cakey in the interior and somewhat crisp on the exterior. The first madeleines I buttered the molds like stated in the recipe and the edges of the madeleines were golden brown in color, but I only baked them for fifteen minutes instead of the recommended twenty-five minutes.

The first presentation was quite simple, a quenelle scoop of corn sorbet, a madeleine and a single blackberry. After this, I experimented with making an ice cream sandwich of sorts and it turned out better than I had imagined.

During this experiment I got to experience making madeleines and I started to compare the similarities between making sorbets and ice creams. Hopefully throughout the summer I continue to perfect my ice cream and sorbet making skills.


Recipe

Classic Madeleines

Melt 100g (4 oz, ½ cup) butter without allowing it to become hot. Butter a tray of madeleine moulds with 20g (3/4 oz, 1 ½ tablespoons) butter. Put the juice of half a lemon in a bowl with a pinch of salt, 125g (4 ½ oz, scant 2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar, 3 eggs, and an extra egg yolk. Mix well together with a wooden spatula and then sprinkle in 125g (4 ½ oz, scant 1 ¼ cups) sifted flour and mix till the mixture is smooth; finally add the melted butter. Spoon the mixture into the moulds but do not fill more than two-thirds full. Bake in the oven at 180 C (350 F, gas 4) for about 15 minutes. Turn out the madeleines and leave to cool on a wire tray. Before serving, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.


Churning in the ice cream maker



















































Sweet Corn Sorbet, Madeleines, Fresh Blackberries, Caramel


















Sweet Corn Sorbet, Madeleines, Fresh Blackberries


















Sweet Corn Sorbet, Madeleines, Fresh Blackberries, Caramel

Frozen Flavors

Balsamic vinegar ice cream, strawberry foam and a vanilla olive oil parfait. Most people would be turned off by these three things combined but I found it rather intriguing.

On my first attempt of ever making ice cream I was really pleased. The balsamic vinegar came through but wasn’t overpowering, just like I’d hoped. The recipe used nonfat dry milk, glucose powder and ice cream stabilizer. Getting slightly into molecular gastronomy, that many people are completely opposed to.

The strawberry foam was quick and very simple. It was a great component to the dish with a sweet flavor similar to a strawberry smoothie. Later on I can see myself substituting the strawberries with other fruits, creating new foams. Although foam has been used for many applications, I think it gives the plate a new look.

The vanilla olive oil parfait was good but missing something. The parfait resembles a mousse which makes it challenging for the extra virgin olive oil to come through. I think using unfiltered olive oil will give me the flavor I’m looking for. Texture wise, it held up nicely but once it started to heat up the gelatin almost made it rubbery.

As Michael Laiskonis states the vanilla olive oil parfait perfects the combo of balsamic vinegar ice cream and strawberry foam.

A few days ago I visited Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates in Kansas City. While I was there I purchased pate de fruit of raspberry to go on the final dish. The raspberry worked rather well in the final dish giving it another sweet component.


Churning in the ice cream maker



















































Aged Balsamic Vinegar Ice Cream, Vanilla Olive Oil Parfait, Strawberry Foam, Reduced Balsamic Glaze, Mint, Christopher Elbow Raspberry Gelee


















Aged Balsamic Vinegar Ice Cream, Fresh Strawberries, Mint, Strawberry Foam, Crushed Biscotti’s


















Cylinder of Vanilla Olive Oil Parfait, Aged Balsamic Vinegar Ice Cream, Fresh Strawberries, Strawberry Foam, Reduced Balsamic Glaze



































Vanilla Olive Oil Parfait Embedded With Strawberries, Balsamic Vinegar Ice Cream, Strawberry Foam, Mint

Croque-Monsieur

A croque-monsieur is typically hot ham and cheese served on bread. The sandwich originated in France as a fast food snack served in cafés. The first time I ever saw it in a restaurant was at Foreign Cinema in San Francisco.

So as my first experiment during the summer, I made a croque-monsieur with a twist. The sandwich consisted of ganache, peanut caramel and bananas. I got the idea from Michael Laiskonis’s Workbook site recipe.

First I made the peanut caramel which consisted of sugar, glucose syrup, heavy cream, milk couverture and peanuts. This particular recipe taught me how to make caramel from scratch which I’d never done before. Then I made the ganache which consisted of heavy cream, glucose syrup, dark chocolate and butter.

The construction is rather simple. Bread, spread with ganache, layered with bananas and then another layer of peanut caramel. Then quickly sauté in a non-stick pan and if desired put on the grill for grill marks.

The sandwich was absolutely fabulous. At eight centimeters it was the perfect size to accommodate its rich flavors. Upon cutting the sandwich the chocolate ever so slightly oozed out of the sandwich, giving you that cheese feel of a tradition croque-monsieur.

This will be a perfect pair to a dish later on, possibly with a critic sorbet and a banana parfait.


Recipes

Peanut Caramel

Yield: approximately 1500g

300g granulated sugar
125g glucose syrup
375g heavy cream (35%), warm
200g milk couverture, chopped
600g roasted, salted peanuts, chopped

1. Combine sugar and glucose in a heavy, non-reactive saucepan and cook to a medium dark caramel.
2. Remove from heat and deglaze with a portion of the warm cream. Add remaining cream and cook until caramelized sugar has dissolved and mixture is homogenous. Final amount of caramel should measure approximately 675g.
3. Combine couverture and peanuts in a large bowl. Pour the hot caramel into the bowl. Stirring to combine completely. Ensuring all chocolate is melted and thoroughly incorporated.
4. Pour into Silpat-lined frame or other form; allow to set at room temperature or under refrigeration.


Ganache

Yield: approximately 235g

100g heavy cream (35% fat)
15g glucose syrup
110g dark chocolate couverture (55-61%), chopped
10g unsalted butter, softened

1. In a saucepan, combine cream and glucose. Bring to a boil.
2. Place couverture in a large bowl and gradually pour hot cream over it, stirring to emulsify.
3. Allow to cool to 35ºC/95ºF before incorporating butter. Further emulsify with immersion blender, if necessary.


Croque-Monsieur

Yield: 4 servings

200g peanut caramel
8 slices brioche, or good-quality white bread, crusts removed (8cm square by 1cm thick)
dark chocolate ganache, as needed
2 bananas, peeled and thinly sliced
Maldon sea salt
unsalted butter, softened, as needed
Confectioner’s sugar, as needed

1. Place the peanut caramel between two sheets of plastic film and roll to a thin, uniform thickness. Briefly chill for ten minutes, or until the caramel is firm enough to cut into four 8cm squares. Reserve.
2. Arrange the bread onto a work surface; spread one side of each with room temperature chocolate ganache. Sprinkle with a few grains of the sea salt, if desired.
2. Divide the banana among each of the slices. Place a slab of the peanut caramel onto four of the slices. Close the sandwiches, wrap tightly, and refrigerate (The sandwiches can be assembled to this point up to two hours in advance of serving).
3. Spread the softened butter onto both sides of each sandwich.
4. Place each sandwich on to a clean, hot grill. After about ten seconds, turn each at a 90º angle to create grill marks. After another ten seconds, carefully flip and continue to cook an additional 30 seconds. Alternatively, cook the sandwiches in a non-stick sauté pan until golden brown on each side.
5. To serve, slice the sandwiches in half on the diagonal, and then in half again. Arrange on a plate, dust with confectioner’s sugar, and serve immediately.

Larousse At Home

While reading Larousse I’ve found many interesting recipes. With a few ideas I decided to do a three course dinner for my parents last week. The first course was all me but the last two were from Larousse Gastronomique. The menu:

First Course

Prosciutto di San Daniele with Blue Montagnolo; Truffle Honey, Baguette Bread

Second Course

Beefsteaks à l’ andalouse; Pan Jus with Sherry, Tomato, Parsley

Third Course

Le jeu de pommes; Organic Honey, Calvados, Lemon Juice

Larousse Gastronomique Recipes

Beefsteaks à l’ andalouse

Soften 50 g (2 oz) chopped onion and a chopped garlic clove in butter. Add salt and pepper. Mix with 400 g (14 oz, 2 cups) minced (ground) beef and form into 4 rounds. Coat these with flour and cook in oil. Sauté 4 large tomato halves in oil and place a cooked steak on each. Arrange them on a plate with a rice pilaf in the centre (optional). Deglaze the cooking juices of the steaks with ½ dl (2-3 tablespoons) sherry. Reduce, add some butter, and pour the sauce over the steaks.

Le jeu de pommes

Make a fine pastry by mixing in the blender 200 g (7 oz, generous 1 ½ cups) flour, 140 g (5 oz, 2/3 cup) rather firm butter, a pinch of salt, 8 g (1/4 oz, 1 teaspoon) sugar, and a little olive oil. Incorporate 1 dl (6 tablespoons, scant ½ cup) water and rotate a few times in the food processer (the particles of butter should still be visible). Remove the dough and roll it out finely; cut out 16 circles approximately 12 cm (5 in) in diameter using a pastry (cookie) cutter. Place them on nonstick baking sheets, cover them with very thin slices of apple, brush with 50 g (2 oz, ¼ cup) melted butter, and sprinkle lightly with caster (superfine) sugar. Bake in a hot oven at 220 C (425 F, gas 7) for 15 minutes.

Turn each tartlet over on the baking sheet using a spatula and dust the reverse side with icing (confectioners’) sugar. Put the tartlets under the grill (broiler). As it caramelizes, the sugar forms a glossy crackly film. Leave to cool for 15 minutes. Take 4 dessert plates and place 4 tartlets on top of each other on each plate (apples upwards). Just before serving, cover each jeu de pommes with 1 tablespoon warmed honey and sprinkle with a little calvados and a few drops of lemon juice. This dessert may be accompanied by a lemon sorbet.

Prosciutto di San Daniele with Blue Montagnolo

























Truffle Honey, Baguette Bread

Beefsteaks à l’ andalouse














Pan Jus with Sherry, Tomato, Parsley

Le jeu de pommes














Organic Honey, Calvados, Lemon Juice, Ice Cream

Cod

I began reading Larousse Gastronomique last week. A few pages in I found an interesting recipe, Acras de Morue. An acra is a savory fritter associated with salted cod. So, I went to Dean and DeLuca and picked up the 1 lb. of salted cod.

I prepared two recipes the original Acras de Morue and Thomas Keller’s Bouchon version with potatoes know as Beignets de Brandade de Morue.

Brandade de Morue began in Nîmes, but is commonly associated with Provence. Originally it was called branlade, which means “something that is pummeled.” The dish made it to Paris after the French Revolution and has never left. Once salt cod became more expensive, potatoes were incorporated to cheapen the dish, as with Thomas Keller’s recipe. The original Brandade though had no potatoes.

Larousse Gastronomique Recipe

Place about 500g (1 lb) salt cod in cold water for 24 hours to remove the salt, changing the water several times. Make a fritter batter with 200g (7 oz, 1 ½ cups) flour, a pinch of salt, and enough water to obtain a thick batter, and leave it to stand for 1 hour. Place the desalted cod with a little cold water and a bay leaf in a saucepan; cook gently for 10 minutes. Drain and flake the fish the mix it with 4 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and cayenne. Finely chop 2 shallots and 4 or 5 chives, add these to the cod, and mix evenly with the batter. Stiffly whisk 2 or 3 egg whites and fold gently into the mixture. Slowly drop spoonfuls of the mixture into hot oil and fry until crisp and golden, turning once. Drain and serve hot.

Larousse Gastronomique recipes are vague in some areas so inferring may have to be done. If you’d like to find the Bouchon recipe, you can buy the Bouchon cookbook which I highly recommend.


Salted Cod Fish
















1 lb. salt cod


Acras de Morue



























Tomato confit, roasted red pepper garlic oil, baby chives


Beignets de Brandade de Morue

























Tomato confit, roasted red pepper garlic oil, baby chives

Mélange À Biscuits Avec Morceaux De Chocolat

Today I was at Williams-Sonoma and saw the Bouchon Bakery Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix. I instantly thought I needed this. I mean come on its Thomas Keller, everything he makes is good. Also last year I was in Yountville, California and stopped in the Bouchon Bakery. So I paid the $18.00 for the cookie mix and went home. After reading the box I saw it made six large cookies or twelve small cookies. I decided to make the large cookies because I love enormous cookies.

The cookies are made with premium Callebaut Chocolate and Nielsen-Massy Vanilla. The cookies were fairly easy to make, just stick to the recipe. Once the cookies came out of the oven I immediately fell in love. They were a perfect golden brown and were saying “eat me.” The outer portion of the cookie was crispy while the inner portion was soft and chewy. This was truly food porn as Anthony Bourdain would say. Once again Thomas Keller is amazing.

Recipe

For best results, use a European-style butter with at least 83% butterfat.

10 ½ TBS. (5 ¼ OZ. / 165g) Unsalted butter
1 Sugar Packet (Included)
1 Molasses Packet (Included)
1 Egg
1 Cookie Mix Packet (Included)
1 Chocolate Chip and Chunk Packet (Included)

Have all the ingredients at room temperature

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375˚F (190˚C). If using a convection oven, preheat to 350˚F (180˚C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and molasses and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, add the egg and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the cookie mix and beat until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Using a rubber spatula, fold the chocolate chips/chunks into the batter.

Shape the dough into 6 large balls or 12 small balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 3 inches (7.5 cm) apart. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and just done in the center, 15 to 17 minutes for large cookies or 12 to 14 minutes for small cookies, rotating the baking sheet 180 degrees halfway through the baking time. If using a convection oven, bake 13 to 15 minutes for large cookies or 10 to 12 minutes for small cookies. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 large or 12 small cookies.


Cookie Mix


















Dough


















Rounded Dough


















Fresh Cookies

Chez Panisse Café Cookbook

Currently I’m reading the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook. I thought this was appropriate since I ate at Chez Panisse last March. The book contains all the recipes from Chez Panisse Café. After reading through the book I decided to make the savory herb meatballs with spaghetti. The recipe turned out perfectly and the meatballs were to die for. On this recipe you can time everything to work together. First get the tomato sauce going and let it set for the recommended time. While it’s cooking make and form the meatballs. Next while you cook the meatballs put the spaghetti in for the recommended time. If you time it out right everything should flow nicely.

Tomato Sauce Recipe

Makes about 2 cups
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced finely
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 pounds sweet, ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Bouquet garmi of parsley, thyme and basil springs


Warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and let it sizzle for half a minute. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and salt, and add the herb springs, bundled together with kitchen twine.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the flame to low. Simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 30 to 45 minutes; it will thicken as it cooks. Remove and discard the herb bundle. Taste for salt and adjust. For a refined sauce, pass through a food mill or purée in a blender.

Meatball and Spaghetti Recipe

½ cup milk
¼ cup soft bread crumbs
1 small yellow onion, very finely diced
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
1 pound freshly ground beef sirloin
Egg, beaten
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, plus 2 tablespoons more for sauce
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
Black pepper
1 medium red onion, sliced thinly
Olive oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
2 cups tomato sauce (See recipe)
¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
Salt
1 pound spaghetti


Put the milk and bread crumbs in a small bowl and mix with a fork. When the bread has softened, squeeze out most of the milk with your hands. Discard the milk.
Sauté the onion in a little olive oil with letting it color. Season with a light pinch of salt and set aside to cool.
Combine in a medium-size bowl the beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, 2 tablespoons parsley, the thyme, cayenne, black pepper, hot pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Work the mixture gently and thoroughly with your hands until it has an even consistently. With wet hands, shape the mixture into walnut-size balls. The meatballs can be cooked in the time it takes to boil the spaghetti.
Heat a skillet large enough to hold all the meatballs in one un-crowded layer. Add the red onion with enough olive oil to coat it lightly and cook over medium heat. When the onions begin to sizzle, add the meatballs, shaking the pan to keep them from sticking. Using tongs or a wooden spoon, gently turn and toss the onions and meatballs so they brown lightly. Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds, taking care that it doesn’t color. Add the tomato sauce, oregano and the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley. Season with salt to taste. Simmer gently, uncovered, stirring the meatballs to coat them with sauce. Test for doneness by cutting one meatball in half with a paring knife. Keep warm.
The dry spaghetti will take 7 to 10 minutes to cook. Boil the pasta in a large quantity of salted water. Drain the spaghetti and turn into a pasta bowl. Pour the meatballs and sauce over the pasta. Serve with more Parmesan cheese.


Tomato Sauce

Meatball Ingredients
















Rounded Meatballs















Savory Herb Meatballs with Spaghetti