Mangia!

I wanted to share a recipe I made the other night, because it was delicious! I am generally more of a primavera/marinara girl than a meatball/meat sauce girl, but I saw a recipe in Giada's Everyday Pasta cookbook that I had to try. I made some minor alterations to the recipe to suit my taste, so here it is.

Linguine with Turkey Meatballs and Quick Sauce

Meatballs
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 ounces pancetta, finely diced
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 lb ground turkey (I used 93/7 - I wouldn't recommend going much less fatty than that)
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper (1/2 to 1 tsp each)

Pasta and Sauce
1 lb linguine
1/4 cup EVOO
1 - 28 ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, drained and cut into pieces with kitchen scissors
1 - 8 ounce can tomato sauce
2 large cloves of garlic
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
freshly grated Romano or Parmesan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium skillet, bring olive oil to temperature over medium heat and saute pancetta for about 2 minutes. Add onion and saute until tender (about 4 more minutes). Remove from heat and let cool. In a large bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients. Form into meatballs about 2 inches in circumference and place on a foil lined, greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta until al dente (about 8 minutes). In a large saute pan, bring olive oil to temperature over medium heat. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the sauce to coat. Plate the pasta on a platter and toss with sauce and meatballs. Add more water as needed to moisten (note: I didn't need to add any). Garnish with fresh basil and cheese. Enjoy!

Matt really liked this, and frankly, so did I. We had it for dinner Sunday evening along with a green salad with cucumber, tomato, green olives, feta and quick balsamic (equal parts EVOO and balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a little bit of Dijon mustard). I had leftovers for lunch and dinner yesterday, and it was even better than Sunday night! I wish I had more, or at least a picture to share...