"I've always loved to cook," writes Mary Gareffa of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, "and though at eighty-nine I'm slowing down, I still love it. My grandfather and my father were both cooks in a monastery in Reggio Calabria, Italy, before they moved to this country, and luckily for me, my father was my cooking teacher. He showed me how to make the tomato-and-sausage sauce for the pasta. When my son was young, he used to tease me for standing over the pot of sauce, stirring and simmering it slowly, but that's the way my father showed me. A sauce is like a baby; you have to be gentle with it. And I know I must be doing something right, because my grandson, Jason, called me just last week to get the recipe."
Tender meatballs — bound with bread softened in milk — in a good old-fashioned Tomato-Sausage sauce.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place bread in medium bowl; cover with milk. Let stand until bread is soft, about 10 minutes. Place meat in large bowl. Mix in 2 tablespoons cheese and next 5 ingredients. Squeeze bread almost dry; discard milk. Blend bread into meat mixture. Using 1 rounded tablespoon for each, shape mixture into 24 meatballs.
Step 2
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs; sauté until brown and cooked through, turning often to hold shape, about 15 minutes. Add meatballs and drippings in skillet to pot of Tomato-Sausage Sauce. Simmer to blend flavors, about 10 minutes.
Step 3
Place pasta in large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups sauce and toss to coat. Top with meatballs and remaining sauce. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.
