The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook (16 page)

SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS SOPHIA

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

This incredibly savory pasta dish stacks up: the sauce gets a porky measure of flavor from spareribs, and the meatballs sport three kinds of meat. This makes a lot, so you might want to plan on freezing some of the meatballs and sauce for another meal. We imagine that it’s just the kind of Sunday dinner that Sophia Loren, the Italian dish of the Sixties and beyond, would make. After all, she herself said, “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.”

SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 spareribs, cut into individual ribs (about 2¼ pounds)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 large celery rib with leaves, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 (28-ounce) cans plum tomatoes in juice, preferably San Marzano, juices reserved, chopped

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

½ teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

1 cup hearty red wine

MEATBALLS

1½ cups fresh bread crumbs

½ cup whole milk

1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed

1 pound ground round (85% lean)

1 pound ground veal

1 medium yellow onion, shredded on the large holes of a box grater

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 large eggs, beaten

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, as needed

2 pounds dried spaghetti

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

1.
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a very large (about 8 quarts) Dutch oven or flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Season the spareribs with the salt and pepper. In batches, add the spareribs and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2.
Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the fat in the Dutch oven. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook, uncovered, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, the basil, oregano, hot pepper flakes, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Return the spareribs to the Dutch oven. Reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the spareribs are barely tender, about 1¾ hours. If the sauce seems too thick, add water as needed.

3.
To make the meatballs, combine the bread crumbs and milk in a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the crumbs. Add the sausages, ground round, ground veal, onion, parsley, eggs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix with your clean hands until combined. Shape into 24 meatballs and transfer to a large baking sheet.

4.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In batches, add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. The meatballs do not have to be cooked through, as they will cook more in the sauce. Transfer the browned meatballs to a platter. Pour the fat out of the skillet. Return the skillet to high heat and add the wine. Bring to a boil, stirring up the browned bits in the skillet with a wooden spoon. Stir into the spaghetti sauce.

5.
When the spareribs are barely tender, add the meatballs to the sauce. Simmer until the spareribs are very tender and falling off the bone and the meatballs are cooked through, about 30 minutes more.

6.
Meanwhile, bring a very large soup pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well and return to the pot.

7.
Transfer the meatballs and spareribs to a large serving bowl. Toss the spaghetti in the pot with the sauce, and transfer to another large serving bowl. Serve hot, with the meatballs and spareribs, and Parmesan cheese passed on the side.

SOUPED-UP SWEDISH MEATBALLS

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

Creamy and tender Swedish meatballs do double-duty in the busy cook’s kitchen, as they are equally delectable speared with frill-picks and served with cocktails as they are spooned over egg noodles for supper. Here is the streamlined American rendition, which is about as Swedish as Sandy Koufax, but unless Ingmar Bergman is at the table, no one will complain.

1½ pounds ground round (85% lean) or 1 pound ground round and 1 pound ground pork

⅓ cup dried bread crumbs

1 large egg, beaten

¼ cup minced yellow onion

1½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 (10.7-ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 cup milk

Hot cooked egg noodles, for serving

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

1.
Combine the ground round, bread crumbs, egg, onion, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined. Using a heaping teaspoon for each, roll into 24 meatballs, and transfer to a baking sheet.

2.
Spread the flour in a shallow dish. In batches, roll the meatballs in the flour, shaking off the excess flour and return them to the baking sheet.

3.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. In batches without crowding, add the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate.

4.
Pour out any fat in the skillet. Add the soup and milk and bring to a simmer, stirring to combine and dislodge any browned bits in the skillet. Return the meatballs to the skillet and return to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve hot, over the noodles, sprinkled with the parsley.

SPIKED SWEDISH MEATBALLS
:
Substitute 3 tablespoons dry sherry for an equal amount of the milk.

PUERTO RICAN PORK CHOPS WITH MOJO AND ONIONS

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

International food in the Sixties wasn’t just inspired by Europe and Asia. Latin flavors were slowly salsa-ing their way into kitchens thanks in large part to the success of the 1961 movie
West Side Story
starring Natalie Wood as “Puerto Rican princess” Maria, and the popular new genre of music boogaloo, a fusion of mambo and soul. (In 1963, Ray Barretto’s boogaloo hit “El Watusi” became the first Latin song to ever hit the
Billboard
charts.) These Puerto Rican-style pork chops, a.k.a.
chuletas
, are braised with sour orange and lots of onion. To really feel the heat, serve while belting out “I Feel Pretty.”

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 center-cut loin pork chops on the bone, about 8 ounces each

2 medium yellow onions, cut into ¼-inch half-moons

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

⅔ cup fresh sour orange juice (available at Latino markets) or ½ cup fresh orange juice and 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Mix the oregano and cumin with ¾teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Use the oregano mixture to season the pork chops. Add the pork chops to the skillet and cook, turning once, until the chops are browned, about 5 minutes, and the oregano and cumin. Transfer the pork chops to a plate.

2.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Return the pork chops to the skillet and cover them
with the onions. Pour in the sour orange juice. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the pork chops are tender and show no sign of pink when pierced at the bone, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pork chops to a platter. Cook the onion mixture in the skillet until the pan juices thicken, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the onion mixture over the pork chops and serve.