Lunch: Pasta with Meatballs and Sauce

You have three options for cooking the meatballs. The main recipe calls for baking them, but you can also sauté the meatballs in a little oil before you finish cooking them in the sauce, or you can also cook them right in the sauce. Baking and simmering t

Ingredients

1 slice plain bread
1/4 c. milk
1 1/4 lb. ground meat
1 large egg
1/4 c. finely freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. finely minced fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1/2 tsp. finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp. Kosher or coarse salt
1/4 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
nonstick cooking spray
4 c. sauce from Good Old Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 package dried pasta

Instructions

Tear the bread into pieces and place them in a small bowl. Pour the milk over the bread, stir to combine, and let sit until the bread has absorbed most of the milk, about 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess milk and shred the bread into little pieces.
Place the meat in a large bowl. Add the soaked bread, egg, Parmesan, parsley, if using, garlic, salt, and pepper. Using your hands, blend the meat mixture well but try not to squeeze it too much. Form the meat mixture into nice round meatballs about 1 1/2 inches in size.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Arrange the meatballs on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake the meatballs until almost cooked through, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the tomato sauce to a simmer in a medium-size pot over medium-low heat. Add the partially cooked meatballs to the sauce and let them simmer until fully cooked, about 10 minutes.
While the meatballs are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt and let the water return to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and serve it with the sauce and meatballs. Serve extra Parmesan on the side to sprinkle over the meatballs, if you like.