Recipe: Super Meatballs with Spicy Red Sauce

SUPER MEATBALLS WITH SPICY RED SAUCE

FOR THE SAUCE:
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 lb. 93-95 percent lean ground beef
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1/4 cup Italian seasoned dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp. grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

FOR THE MEATBALLS:
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 (28-oz.) can no salt added crushed tomatoes
1 (28-oz.) can no salt added whole plum tomatoes in tomato

TO PREPARE THE SAUCE:
Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic and cook until onions are translucent, 3 minutes, stirring so garlic does not burn.

Add crushed tomatoes. (To add whole tomatoes, hold one at a time over pot and squeeze it in your fist, crushing tomato through your fingers, then add sauce remaining in can.) Add oregano and red pepper flakes. Simmer sauce, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS:
While sauce simmers, in mixing bowl, combine meat, spinach, breadcrumbs, parsley, cheese, egg and pepper, mixing until well combined. Divide mixture into 8 parts and form each loosely into a meatball. (Divide mixture into 16 parts for smaller meatballs, if desired.)

Gently drop uncooked meatballs into sauce, cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 40 minutes.

If not serving immediately, cool meatballs and sauce together in big bowl until room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat, covered, in large pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Serve meatballs in a bowl with just Spicy Red Sauce, over spaghetti or polenta, or halved to make meatball sandwiches spooned generously with sauce.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving (meatballs and sauce): 380 calories, 13 g total fat (4 g saturated fat), 36 g carbohydrate, 36 g protein, 9 g dietary fiber, 480 mg sodium

Adapted from source: Dana Jacobi for The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR)