On the walk home from brunch, and after much debate, we settled on Spaghetti & Meatballs for dinner. Never one to pass up an opportunity to incorporate bacon into a meal, I diced up some of that gorgeous thick cut bacon and slowly rendered out the fat.
To make the meatballs I used one pound of freshly ground lean beef, 1 egg, a handful of bread crumbs, 2 cloves of minced garlic, sea salt & black pepper, chopped fresh sage and thyme and of course, the bacon bits (I meant to add parmesan cheese as well but totally forgot until I was about halfway done rolling the meatballs...oh well). I rolled little balls and browned them in shifts in the bacon fat and a little olive oil and set aside.
Using the same pan I sweated an onion and lots more garlic until translucent, then tossed in a few leftover sliced button mushroom. Sizzle, sizzle...deglazed with some white wine and reduced by half. Then I splashed in some chicken stock, a bottle of strained tomatoes, 2 bay leaves and brought the liquid to a simmer. I gingerly placed the meatballs in to finish cooking and let them get acquainted with the sauce for about an hour. And tossed in some sprigs of thyme in the last 10 minutes while the pasta boiled.
Served over whole wheat spaghettini with fresh shaved parm... Mmm. Hearty and comforting, the mushrooms add texture to the smooth, thick sauce, and the meatballs are meaty yet light with an herbacious quality and the bacon adds a nice depth of flavour without taking over.
