Classic American Spaghetti and Meatballs for National Meatball Day!

National Meatball Day happens every year on March 9. I completely missed it in 2021; I was very disconnected from the cycles of nature in Eternal Lockdown. This year I set a reminder in the hand-held computing device that I have become too dependent upon. Smrt. Craving a tomato-based meal, I chose classic spaghetti and meatballs. Please, no “not how they eat meatballs in Italy” hipster foodie sneers–I have eaten meatballs in Italy, thank you–these are American mid-century meatballs, and they are brilliant.

This is a vintage recipe from “the 1960s”, reprinted in a (now also vintage?) Rose Festival cookbook. The author is the woman who taught me how to keep a softball/baseball scorebook when I was in the seventh grade, and may possibly also have been involved with local 4-H?–at any rate, a trusted source. I have no other American Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe in my rotation.

The recipe calls for “2 pints canned tomatoes”, implying you grew them yourself last summer and then put them up for the winter. I love this, but I only grow small weird tomatoes. Since this is a holiday celebration, I went all out and purchased some fancy Italian tomatoes and then stalked them online. Yup. Here is a map of where my supper may have come from:

I find American recipes from the 1960s are generally too lightly seasoned. So I pumped up the 1/8 teaspoon (the mind reels) of garlic powder in the sauce to a reasonable pile of chopped garlic, doubled the parsley, and tripled the oregano. In the balls I quadrupled the black pepper, but left everything else as written.

The other thing I love about this recipe is the balls are browned in a pan for that yummy Röstaroma, but I don’t have to worry about the insides being fully cooked before the outsides are burned. They simmer in the sauce for half an hour, or until the pasta water finally boils. Always done to the perfect degree of doneness (how is this more awkward to read than “immer perfekt gegart“??) and never dry.

As an astute reader, you have already noticed that “spaghetti” is shorthand for “whatever pasta Mr Radish grabbed when it was on sale two weeks ago.” I know rules about shapes exist, but unless you’re trying to recreate a specific childhood experience, they don’t matter for this sauce. Use whatever shape or low-carb substitute you desire! Feel good about what’s in your bowl!