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Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe with Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Don’t be intimidated by this long list of ingredients, as this is easy spaghetti and meatball recipe is mostly “walk away” time with the sauce and meatballs cooking in the oven. The oven roasting concentrates the tomato sauce flavor and gives it a touch of roasting smokiness. Because tomatoes aren’t in season in the wintertime, I added a can of tomato paste to give it a little more flavor but if tomatoes are in season, taste the sauce first to see if you need the paste. You might not! The addition of fish sauce to the recipe is going to sound weird but trust me when I say that you don’t taste it at all. What you do get is a deeper umami savory flavor from the fish sauce. If you don’t have fish sauce, just skip that part but if you have some floating in the back of your fridge, pull it out and try it. You’ll be surprised at how much it adds to the tomato sauce.

By eatthelove · From Open Recipes · 34 ingredients
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Why it works: Basil and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,390 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe with Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

6 people
Prep30 min
Cook90 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1579Calories
96 gProtein
70 gFat
132 gCarbs

Counts 21 of 22 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 21 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Basil5 leaves fresh (2.5g)1
Chives1 tbsp (3g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Vealnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By eatthelove. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Basil + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Tomato + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, olive, pepper, garlic, basil, red wine, oregano):

  1. Eggplantfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, olive, pepper, garlic, basil, red wine, oregano. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.