Spaghetti with marinara is a dish that I, like many, grew up on, but we never made it from scratch in my house. I'm not quite sure why my family would spend hours making homemade pies, cookies, jambalaya, and biscuits—to name just a few—but never ventured into the realm of a homemade tomato sauce.
My first taste of a homemade version of the classic sauce came when I met my boyfriend. Our nightly meals started off on the more adventurous side, with dishes such as Wasabi Pea Encrusted Tofu Steaks topped with vegan Wasabi-Mayo, but like any relationship, things got a bit more tame over time.
When we finally moved on to making good ole comfort foods, he insisted that we always make the Italian-inspired dishes from scratch. Our pizza dough is never from a box that requires you to only add water, our ravioli is painstakingly rolled out by hand before being stuffed with sautéed mushrooms, and every tomato sauce is simmered, blended, and seasoned—never simply poured out of a jar.
Now that he has shown me that a homemade sauce is easy and that the fresh taste is definitely worth the minimal effort, I've expanded on his recipe below by adding my own soy meatballs to the mix. Enjoy the recipe, and check back tomorrow to find out what to do with the leftovers—if there are any.
Spaghetti and Marinara With Soy Meatballs
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 14-oz. cans diced tomatoes
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Soy meatballs (see recipe below)
Prepared spaghetti
•In a medium saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
•Add the tomatoes, water, salt, pepper, sugar, and basil. Bring to a simmer, then pour into a food processor or blender. Pulse 4 to 5 times, being sure to leave small chunks of tomato. Pour back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat.
•Add the tomato paste, lemon juice, and soy meatballs and simmer on low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring continuously. Adjust the seasonings if necessary.
•Serve over prepared spaghetti or pasta of your choice.
Soy Meatballs
1 14-oz. pkg. ground-beef-style Gimme Lean
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup water, or as needed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
•Mix all the ingredients together, except the water and the oil. Add just enough water to make the "meatballs" moist.
•Shape the "meatballs" so that they are approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
•Add the oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and pan fry until lightly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
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Comments ( 4 )
All those recipes are great but the pre-packaged stuff (like the soy meat balls) don't work well with people with wheat or gluten intolerance. All those products contain wheat of some kind and wheat gluten. Can somebody explain to me why? I run out of ideas with my cooking.
Posted by Pascal L | March 5, 2008 6:32 PM
Posted on March 5, 2008 18:32
Just one quick correction to the name of the recipe, if they do not contain meat you should not call them meatballs. A better option might be soyballs.
Thanks
Posted by Kate | March 9, 2008 8:22 PM
Posted on March 9, 2008 20:22
I have not had good luck using Gimme Lean to make meatballs, burgers, etc. No matter how much I cooked them, or what ingredients I used, they were very gummy/pasty on the inside! What can I do to correct this? Also, Emes Kosher Jel is NOT vegan. There was a news bit on this( NBC?). It was about 2 women who came up with a vegan marshmallow. Turned out Emes was a fake per independent lab tests. One of the women went out of business because of this. The other found an alternate vegan gelatin replacement. Please pass it on. Thanks. P.S. I get what Kate means about the Meat" label.
Posted by gina | March 20, 2008 7:18 PM
Posted on March 20, 2008 19:18
I really loved the simplicity of ingredients in this marinara recipe. I substituted the “two 14-oz. cans diced tomatoes” with four very plump heirloom (Brandywine and Beefsteak) tomatoes from my garden. I blanched and peeled the tomatoes and added them to a pot of sautéing onions and garlic. I mashed the lumps, added salt, pepper, and basil. No need to measure just eye ball it. I even omitted the tomato paste because I did not have it on hand. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, longer if possible but I had to feed a hungry husband. I will NEVER go back to canned sauce.
On another note, my soy balls did not hold their shape. I ended up cooking per usual.
Posted by Adriana | November 12, 2008 4:19 PM
Posted on November 12, 2008 16:19