Healthy Spaghetti and Meatballs with Tomato Sauce
Cornflake crumbs are a special product found next to the bread crumbs. If you do have regular cornflake cereal, you can just put them in a bag and smash them until they become small crumbs. The tomato sauce recipe is from the famous Italian American cooking teacher, Marcella Hazan, who only uses 3 ingredients: crushed tomatoes, half an onion and butter. Just cut an onion in half, peel and discard the outer papery skin. Place this half-onion (no need to chop any further) into the pot. The onion that is cooked in the tomato sauce will be removed once the sauce is cooked - the onion will have transferred all its flavors into the sauce!You can use any Mori-nu tofu, we prefer the silken tofu.For a dairy-free version - use soy cheese.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 25 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 2 14-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 onion
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 lb spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
- 1 lb lean ground turkey or chicken
- 6 oz soft or silken tofu (we recommend Mori-nu brand)
- 1/2 onion, grated on large holes of box grater
- 2 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
- 2 tbsp minced fresh basil
- 1/2 cup corn flake, bread or panko crumbs
- 1 tsp kosher or sea salt (if using regular table salt, use 1/2 teaspoon)
- freshly ground black pepper
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- 1
To make the sauce, in a large saute pan or soup pot, add the crushed tomatoes, onion and butter. Cover and bring to a simmer.
- 2
In the meantime, prepare the meatballs. In a large bowl, mix together all of the meatball ingredients thoroughly. Use a melon baller and your hands to form meatballs.
- 3
Once the sauce comes to a simmer, turn the heat to low and add in the meatballs. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Discard the half-onion. Serve the sauce sauce over the pasta, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.