Gluten Free Spaghetti and Meatballs
Gluten free spaghetti and meatballs is a hearty, flavorful meal that will feed a crowd and satisfy everyone. There's a secret ingredient in the sauce that'll make you say "Hmmm...what is that?"
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Ingredients
Sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- ½ cup red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
- 2 15-ounce (425 g) cans tomato sauce
- 1 6-ounce (170 g) can tomato paste
- ¼ cup dried oregano (sounds like a lot, but trust me)
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 beef marrow bone, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound (454 g) ground beef
- 1 pound (454 g) hot Italian sausage links, optional (mild can be substituted)
- 1 pound (454 g) pasta of choice (homemade or store bought)
- Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
Instructions
For the sauce:
- Heat olive oil in large dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and beef marrow bone and saute briefly, Don't allow garlic to brown.
- Add red wine and deglaze the pan.
- Slowly add the cans of tomato sauce and paste and then fill both empty tomato sauce cans with water and add water to the sauce mixture.
- Add all other herbs and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer for roughly 2-3 hours, partially covered with lid. Stir every 20-30 minutes.
- Heat skillet over medium heat and add Italian sausage links. Saute for a few minutes per side until all links are nicely browned.
- Remove from skillet onto paper towels and let cool slightly. Cut in thirds and add to sauce. Also add meatballs to the sauce at this time.
- Continue to cook sauce for another hour or two, stirring every 20-30 minutes.
- Serve over pasta. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh parsley.
Notes
- If you don't want to make meatballs, you can always just brown the ground beef and bulk Italian sausage with the garlic and olive oil, before adding the red wine. Proceed as directed. This makes an incredibly yummy meat sauce that can be served over pasta or made into baked ziti, lasagna, or any other dish calling for meat sauce. My mom never made meatballs when we were growing up. She did it this way and we all loved it! Her lasagna is legendary in our family (recipe coming soon).
- Leftover sauce can be frozen. Cool to room temperature and put sauce in gallon ziploc baggies. Lie them flat in the freezer. When reheating, cut sides of bag and add to large saucepan with about 1/2 cup of water. Heat on medium low until warmed through.