When I was a little girl, around eight or nine, I remember laying out our nicest placemats and arranging them on the table.
On those special settings I would place a plate of pasta, mashed potatoes and some toasted garlic bread — my idea of gourmet Western food at the time.
I grew up in Singapore, a place that will always feel like home even though I now visit only once a year. Our local cuisine revolves around rice, noodles, seafood and lots of stir-fries. It wasn’t until my teenage years that I began exploring Western dishes and other cuisines beyond what I grew up with.
What stands out most from those young years was the simple joy of cooking and the excitement of serving something I’d made to people I cared about.
As I entered my teens, other interests pulled me away and that early joy of cooking collected dust on a shelf. We had a live-in helper who cooked for the family, and I never expected to need to cook for myself. Cooking felt like a waste of time.
But things change.
My reintroduction to the kitchen began unexpectedly at a cooking class just two blocks from Juan’s family home in Argentina. I worried that if we moved out together neither of us would know how to feed ourselves, so I signed up.
Trying to pick up culinary terms in Spanish and learn basic techniques pushed me back into the habit of cooking. I fell in love with it all over again.
That rediscovered skill proved useful. Since Juan and I moved into a new apartment last November, we’ve been eating in at least five days a week to save money for rent, and cooking at home has become both practical and comforting.
I try to challenge myself to prepare different dishes several times a week to keep our meals interesting and to brighten our dinner table.
Online food blogs and those early cooking classes have been my allies.
One of the first meals we cooked in our new kitchen was a healthy meatball spaghetti I learned from Pelusa Molina’s class.
I’ll admit a secret: while making these meatballs I kept humming the childhood song “And then my poor meatball rolled out of the door.” As I shaped big juicy meatballs, I half expected them to roll away.
Aside from the silly mental soundtrack, these meatballs are genuinely the star of the dish.
Stand with me at the kitchen counter as I combine the ingredients into a roomy bowl.
Into the bowl goes a mix of minced beef, diced onion, torn pieces of crustless bread, a touch of dried thyme, tomato paste and an egg, seasoned simply with salt and pepper. I stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until it comes together, then use my clean hands to knead everything so it’s evenly combined and easy to shape.
I use an ice-cream scoop to portion the mixture, then roll each portion between my palms into round meatballs and set them on a lightly greased baking tray. After forming eight meatballs, I roast them in the oven until they’re nicely browned while I prepare the sauce.
For the sauce I slice fresh button mushrooms thinly and sauté them in a little oil until golden. I add roughly chopped canned tomatoes, more tomato paste and a splash of water, then season with dried oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Let it simmer gently so the flavors develop and the sauce reduces slightly. When the meatballs are browned, I transfer them into the simmering sauce to finish cooking and absorb the tomato flavors.
Next I boil the spaghetti in a large pot of well-salted water until it reaches al dente — the point at which a strand will just stick to the kitchen tiles if you flick it — then drain and divide between two bowls. I ladle the sauce and meatballs over the pasta and finish with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley for color and brightness.
Pull up a chair and join me at the table.
HEALTHY MEATBALL SPAGHETTI (Serves 2)
Source: Pelusa Molina
Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
1) 300g minced beef
2) 2 slices of crustless bread, torn into small pieces
3) 1 small onion, diced
4) ½ teaspoon dried thyme
5) 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
6) Salt and pepper to taste
7) 1 egg
For the sauce and spaghetti:
8) 200g fresh button mushrooms, sliced
9) 1 can peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped
10) 1 tablespoon tomato paste
11) Salt and pepper to taste
12) 1 teaspoon dried oregano
13) 1 teaspoon dried thyme
14) 300g uncooked spaghetti
15) Fresh chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
Steps:
1) Combine minced beef, torn bread, diced onion, dried thyme, tomato paste, egg, salt and pepper until well mixed. Use a wooden spoon or clean hands.
2) Portion the mixture with a scoop or tablespoon and form 8 meatballs.
3) Place meatballs on a lightly greased baking tray and bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes until browned.
4) While the meatballs bake, sauté the sliced mushrooms in a little oil until golden.
5) Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and about ½ cup of water to the mushrooms. Simmer over low heat.
6) Season the sauce with thyme, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
7) Transfer the cooked meatballs into the sauce and let them simmer a few minutes to finish cooking.
8) Cook spaghetti according to package instructions until al dente and drain.
9) Serve spaghetti topped with meatballs and sauce, garnished with chopped parsley if desired.