Fig & Fennel Caponata with Spaghetti and Meatballs

We have company arriving today, by plane.  That is scary for planning dinner as there is the “relatively on time factor.”  So I decided to make a spaghetti and meatballs recipe that I saw on FoodTV.  Ted Allen made the dish, but he credited Lidia Bastianich for teaching him how to make it.  Yes, I am serving spaghetti and meatballs to guests.  Of course, these are probably the only guests that I can do this for.  My friends love Italian food.  In fact we are all going to Italy together this year.  My friend Carole and I are taking cooking lessons for a week in Italy and then we will tour.  The guys would not sign up for cooking so they can either come later or find some wineries to visit.  Spaghetti with sauce has always been a favorite of mine.  Two of my father’s sisters married Italians.  They would both serve spaghetti and meatballs when you visited them.  We did not get this kind of cooking at our house and I loved it.  Two of their children would not eat sauce on their spaghetti.  I thought they were crazy.  As I said, I was in heaven.  Thank god for company as Jim will not be able to pout through the meal.  He is in heaven here in “Meat and Three” country.   

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1# ground beef

½# ground pork

½ C freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish

¼ C fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

1/3C fresh breadcrumbs

1/3 C chicken stock

1 ½ t kosher salt

½ t cayenne pepper

2 large eggs

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 T EVOO

Gravy:

2 T EVOO

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

3 cloves, garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 T tomato paste

1 (28 oz.) can chopped tomatoes

3 quarts chicken stock

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together with cotton string

½ C fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 # spaghetti

Salt

Directions:

1.       In a large bowl, using your hands mix together the beef, pork, Parmesan, parsley, breadcrumbs, stock, salt, cayenne, eggs, garlic and onions until evenly combined.  Be careful not to over work the mixture; you don’t want to compact the meat too much or the meatballs with be tough.  I used a medium ice-cream scoop and formed 26 meatballs about the size of a golf ball. 

2.       Heat the EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Gently add the meatballs and brown thoroughly on all sides; this will take about 15 minutes.

3.       Transfer to a plate, and refrigerate until you are ready to cook them in the gravy. 

4.       In the same pan, heat the EVOO over medium heat and add the celery, onions, and carrot.  Cook stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. 

5.       Add the garlic and bay leaves and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. 

6.       Push the veggies to one side and add the tomato paste, toasting it on the bottom of the pan for 1 minute.  Stir into the vegetables.

7.       Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and thyme, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer very gently, partially covered until thick and significantly reduced, about 1 hour (Mine was 1 1/2hour before I thought it was right.)

8.       Carefully add the meatballs, a few at a time, and simmer, stirring very gently now and then for about 40 minutes. 

9.       Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. 

10.   Add most of the basil and stir, reserving a little to sprinkle over the top for serving.

11.   Cook the spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente; follow the directions on the package.  I am using whole wheat pasta. 

12.   To serve, put the pasta into a large serving bowl. Immediately ladle sauce on top and then the meatballs.  Garnish with chopped fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan.

Actually I let my guests decide how much cheese they want. 

For our appetizer I have a Fig and Fennel Caponata which is a Sicilian condiment.  I used to make this a lot when I first started cooking in large quantities with eggplant and raisins and would can it for company.  I love it.  Jim, well he has no ethnic blood.  Spaghetti is a reach for him.  This recipe is interesting as it uses figs and fennel.  They are two of my favorites.  This is from the Barefoot Contessa again. 

Ingredients: 

3 T EVOO

1 ½ C diced red onion

2 C diced fennel

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/3 C sherry vinegar

1 C canned crushed tomatoes in puree

8 dried Calmyrna figs, stems removed and ¼” dice

2 ½ T light brown sugar, lightly packed

2 T drained capers

½ C green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

1 t grated orange zest

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 C freshly squeezed orange juice

3 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Grilled bread for serving

Directions:

1.       Heat the EVOO over medium heat in a medium sauté pan. 

2.       Add the onions and fennel and sauté for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. 

3.       Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

4.       Stir in the vinegar, tomatoes, figs and brown sugar, stirring to coat everything with the tomatoes. 

5.       Stir in the capers, olives, orange zest, 1 ½ t salt and ½ t pepper.

6.       Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until thickened.

7.       Stir in orange juice and parsley. 

8.       Taste for seasonings; the caponata should be highly seasoned.

9.       Serve the caponata warm or at room temperature with slices of grilled bread. 

One orange gives you both the juice and the zest.  This was very easy to make and I think very tasty.  We will see what my guests think.

Remember that great flourless chocolate cake I made last Saturday.  Well, I froze it and defrosted it today.  Carole is a chocoholic.  Well, no one really enjoyed the Caponata as much as I did.  The spaghetti was very good.  Jim wore his dinner.  Everyone enjoyed the chocolate cake.   
Jim served all Italian wines with dinner.  All wines tonight were from Tuscany.  The wine served with the appetizer was a 1988 Nardi, Brunello Di Montalcino.  For dinner we started with a Montegiachi Chianti Classico, 1995.  The second wine was another Brunello di Montalcino, 2001 called Aglieta.