NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2006
'Two Meatballs,' One-On-One
Top Chefs Take Each Other On Preparing Pasta And Meatballs
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Play CBS Video Video A Chef Cook-Off Top chefs Pino Luongo and Mark Strausman collaborated on a new book, "The Two Meatballs." But the two men had a friendly cook-off on the "The Early Show."
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Mark's spaghetti and meatballs (CBS/The Early Show)
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Chefs Mark Strausman (lft) and Pino Luongo, with Julie Chen, on
The early Show Tuesday (CBS/The Early Show) -
Pino's pasta and meatballs (CBS/The Early Show)
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News Tools Recipes Galore Searching for a new dish? Get cooking with recipes presented on "The Early Show"!
SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS ALLA COCO PAZZO
Spaghetti and meatballs might seem like a strange dish for a restaurant like Coco Pazzo, but people are always looking for homey food, and everybody remembers eating spaghetti and meatballs when they were a kid. Strausman doesn't sauté the meatballs separately, because he says that stinks up the house. Plus, they stay much plumper if cooked slowly in the sauce. If you sauté them then put them in the sauce, all the flavor gets thrown out. Serves 6
Meatballs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced red onions
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
4 ounces sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casing
3 tablespoons ground Sicilian oregano
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano
2 eggs
1 cup pieces day-old sourdough bread, crust removed, soaked with 1 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed with a knife and peeled
1/2 cup red onions, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 large cans whole peeled Italian plum tomatoes with juice and seeds, pureed
Kosher salt to taste
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
Pasta
1 1/2 pounds spaghetti
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, then sauté the onions until translucent.
Place the meat in a large stainless steel mixing bowl and mix together with your hands. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients, through the parsley, one at a time, mixing them until thoroughly combined between additions. Mix in the cooked onions. When you have added all the ingredients, mix for 1 additional minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the sauce, in a large casserole pot sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil.
Once the onion is translucent, add the tomato paste and sauté for 1 additional minute. Then add the red wine and the tomatoes and season with salt and crushed red pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Take pieces of meat about the size of a ping pong ball and shape them in the palms of your hands to make small spheres.
Place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Cut into a meatball to make sure they are cooked through.) Count the cooking time from the point when the sauce returns to a simmer after you add the meatballs. Do not let the sauce boil once the meatballs are added, as they will dry out and the fat will separate from the meat.
Just before serving, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain, transfer to a large serving bowl, and top with meatballs and sauce. Serve immediately.
Pro tips: In step 2 you'll want to test the seasoning of the meat mixture, but you shouldn't eat raw meat. Instead, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Pinch off a small amount of the meat mixture, roll it into a ball, and boil the small meatball until it is cooked through, about 2 minutes. This will allow you to taste the true flavor of the meatball, and you can add more salt and pepper if you think it's needed. Also, always keep your hands wet when rolling the meatballs so that the meat doesn't stick to your hands.
Serving suggestions: If you prefer, you can prepare this dish without the spaghetti and simply serve the meatballs in the sauce with lots of good bread.
Wine: This calls for a great Chianti. It doesn't need a murderously expensive wine. Don't buy anything in a straw bottle, but a good, low-priced Chianti is the way to go.
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