Recipe of the Week: Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabiata Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb rigatoni
• grated Parmesan cheese

• 1 lb lean ground pork
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• ¾ cup breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• pinch of red chili flakes
• 1 cup red wine, I used Merlot
• 1 19 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tbsp hot sauce, I used Sriracha sauce but any hot sauce would work
• 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Place parchment paper over a baking sheet or spray it with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together well. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch balls. Mine were pretty small so I got about 60 meatballs. Place meatballs on prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until done.
3. In a Dutch oven or a large pot heat the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes or until onion is soft and starts to brown a bit, make sure you don’t burn it though. Stir in the dried oregano and red chili flakes. Add the wine and cook for another 5 minutes until the alcohol burns off a bit.
4. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, hot sauce, basil leaves and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let this simmer for 10 minutes.
5. After 10 minutes you can start cooking the rigatoni according to package instructions. If you like your pasta al dente cook it for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package.
6. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes.
7. Pour the sauce and meatballs over the rigatoni, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and basil over and serve.