Continuing our all-time top 10 countdown with a classic. Again, as with photos for some recipes, formatting from the old blogspot site is often messed up. Sorry.

Recipe: Little Joe’s Meatballs and Spaghetti Sauce

Published on September 12, 2013 by Marica | Edit

Absolutely delicious! Mr. Big Food ground a chuck roast for the meatballs. Nothin’ like it. 

Photos of some prep cooking here.  

From Little Joe’s, an old-time Italian restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. This all freezes well, so make the whole batch.

LITTLE JOE’S MEATBALLS AND SPAGHETTI SAUCE Serves 6-8

MEATBALLS

1 lb ground beef
½ lb ground pork
½ lb ground veal
1 C onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 C Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 C fine dry bread crumbs (preferably homemade)
4 eggs
¼ fresh parsley, chopped
Dash dried leaf oregano, crumbled
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ C oil
Spaghetti Sauce

Combine all ingredients except oil and Sauce, mixing well. Form into 1 ½ inch balls. Heat Oil in skillet, add meatballs, cook until browned, then drain. Add meatballs to Spaghetti Sauce during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

SPAGHETTI SAUCEMakes

5-6 C1 medium onion, chopped fine

2 Tbsp bell pepper, chopped fine

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, minced

3 Tbsp oil

28 oz whole, tomatoes, chopped (can use canned)

28 oz tomato puree

1 Tbsp dried basil, crumbled

1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled

1 bay leaf

½ C dry red wine

1 C water

2 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded

Cook onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic in oil until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes with their juice, tomato puree, basil, oregano, and bay leaf, and simmer 1 hour, stirring often. Add wine, water, salt, and pepper, and simmer 1 hour longer. If sauce is too thick, add more water. When sauce is cooked, add cheese and stir well.