Why do spaghetti and meatballs have this unique ability to satisfy absolutely everyone around the table? The answer is simple: it’s an honest, unpretentious dish that delivers exactly what it promises. And with the right method, it’s ready in under 40 minutes — without sacrificing a single thing along the way.
Ingredients :
- Ground beef — Go for 15% fat, no less. Using 5% fat results in dry, dense meatballs. The fat melts during cooking and is what keeps the inside juicy. 500g for 4 people is the right baseline.
- Breadcrumbs — They absorb the moisture from the egg and hold the meatballs together without making them heavy. Fine store-bought breadcrumbs are perfect. No breadcrumbs? Stale bread coarsely processed does exactly the same job.
- Marinara sauce — A good store-bought jar with a short ingredient list — tomatoes, garlic, herbs, olive oil. Avoid versions with too much added sugar, which you’ll see in the first few ingredients. A good purchased marinara is well worth the time it saves on a weeknight.
- Spaghetti — Number 5 or number 7, your choice — one cooks in 9 minutes, the other in 11-12. What matters: respect the time on the package and taste 1 minute before the end. Al dente should be felt ‘to the tooth’.
