I know next-to-nothing about Sofia Vergara, and still: I cannot help but think she is wonderful. She wears ridiculous sequin dresses, is rarely pictured without a glass of champagne and doing some crazy dance move in an era when stars try to cultivate a photo-perfect image at all times, and she and Julie Bowen posed for the this send-up of Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield:
That is an amazing photo.
She has to be wonderful.
Anyway, she also appears to have quite wonderful taste in food: I, too, am a fan of Buca di Beppo from my LA days (my boyfriend’s daughter loved it, so the three of us went there all the time), and while it seems to me like Sofia may have some kind of endorsement deal with the brand, she also seems to genuinely like it.
I mean, that is a happy face. And she recently shared “her” (a.k.a. Buca di Beppo’s) meatball recipe* with People, and since I love Sofia, Buca di Beppo, and People’s recipes, this seemed like a no-brainer to make.
What You Need:
For the meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs ground chuck
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
6 cloves chopped garlic
Salt & pepper
For the sauce:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil
1 24-oz can tomato sauce
1 16-oz can diced tomatoes
4 oz water
Salt & pepper
What You Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine ground chuck, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly, but don’t over-mix (or the meatballs will come out tough). Divide meat mixture into six equal portions and shape them into meatballs. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, and bake 13-15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make your sauce: saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until translucent, then pour in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and water. Season to taste and let simmer for a few minutes.
3. Transfer the meatballs to a Dutch oven, and pour over the tomato sauce. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake an additional 35-45 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve by tossing cooked spaghetti with 3/4 of the sauce and topping with meatballs, then ladling over the remainder of the sauce.
*Meatball recipe adapted from People Magazine. Sauce recipe my own.
