Italian Spaghetti and meat balls with more French bread

I suppose since this is an Italian recipe, you could call the bread Italian.  I don't think there is really any difference in the two. 

Rocco DiSpririto’s Mama’s Meatballs             Aired October 29, 2015

 Serves 4

Ingredients

1/3 cup chicken stock

1/4 yellow onion

1 clove garlic

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground veal

1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs

2 eggs

1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine

1 teaspoon salt

3 to 6 cups Mama’s Marinara (recipe follows) or your favorite marinara

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the Marinara:

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped fine

3 tablespoons olive oil

Chili flakes, to taste

2 28-ounce cans tomato purée, Red Pack brand if possible

1 28-ounce. can crushed tomatoes, Red Pack brand if possible

1 tablespoon tomato paste, Red Pack brand if possible

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup chicken stock

Red pepper flakes, to taste

Salt, to taste

Preparation

Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic and parsley in a blender or food processor and purée.

In a large bowl, combine the puréed stock mix, meat, breadcrumbs, eggs, Parmigiano-

Reggiano, red pepper flakes, parsley and salt. Combine with both hands until mixture is

uniform. Do not over mix.

Put a little olive oil on your hands and form mixture into balls a little larger than golf balls.

They should be about 1/4 cup each, though if you prefer bigger or smaller, it will only affect the

browning time.

Pour about 1/2-inch of extra virgin olive oil into a straight-sided, 10-inch-wide sauté pan and

heat over medium-high flame. Add the meatballs to the pan (working in batches if necessary)

and brown meatballs, turning once. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

While the meatballs are browning, heat the marinara sauce in a stockpot over medium heat.

Lift the meatballs out of the sauté pan with a slotted spoon and put them in the marinara sauce.

Stir gently. Simmer for one hour.

Serve with a little extra Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top. Serve alone or over spaghetti

(in which case, you will need 6 cups of marinara).

For the marinara, Cook the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a sauce pot over a medium-low flame, about 10 minutes or until garlic is tender and onions translucent, not brown (this is called "sweating" because it will draw out a lot of moisture and flavor). Add the chili flakes to taste.

Add all the tomato products. Pour the chicken stock into one of the 28-oz cans. Fill it the rest of the way with water and add that and the sugar to the pot. Stir and bring to a simmer. Taste and season with salt and cover. Simmer the sauce for about 1 hour. The sauce should be fairly thin, but not watery and very smooth. Uncover and simmer for 3 minutes if it is too thin for your taste; add a little water if it seems thick.- Yields 6 cups

CLASSIC SOURDOUGH BREAD

1 C. Sourdough starter

1 1/3 C. Warm water

5-6 C Unbleached all purpose flour

1 T. Salt

1 T. Sugar (OPTIONAL)

1 t. Baking soda

Cornmeal to sprinkle on pans.

THE SPONGE:  Poue 1 C. starter into a large ceramic bowl.  Add the warm water and about 3 cups flour.  Beat vigorously with a spoon or wire whisk.  Cover sponge with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 2 hours and as many as 24 hours.

THE DOUGH:  After the sponge and gubbled and expanded, remove the plastic wrap.  To about 2 cups of flour, add the salt, sugar and baking soda

. Stir this into the sponge until it leaves the side of the bowl.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead 4 to 5 minutes.  Add flour as needed to make a fairly stiff dough.

Give the dough a rest while you clean out and grease your bowl. Continue kneading for another 3-4 minutes.  Plae the dough in the bowl and turn it over to grease the top.  Cover it with plastic again and let it rise again for another 2-4 hours.  This second ricing can be skipped but the second rising will give the bread more flavor.

SHAPING AND BAKING:  Knock down and shape into two long French bread loaves.  Place on cornmeal sprinkled cookie sheet, cover and let rise another2 hours or so.

Toward the end of the rising, preheat oven to 450 degrees and bring a kettle of water to a boil.  Add the water to a pan and place under the bread as it bakes.  Just before placing in the oven, slash the tops of the bread with a knife about 2 inches apart and about 1/4th inch deep and brush with old water, or for a shiny crust, brush them with a wash of egg mixed with water.  You may also sprinkle with poppy seeds.  Bake 25 minutes or until it reaches 190 degrees.  The crust will be very hard when you remove it from the oven but in about 5 minutes, the crust will be chewy and crackling.  To keep the crust crunchy, leave the bread in the oven with the oven off for another 5 minutes.