- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 large green pepper, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 3/4 cup water
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- MEATBALLS:
- 1 egg
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 slices bread, cubed
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 pound ground veal
- 1/4 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Hot cooked spaghetti
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute the onion, green pepper, celery and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, bay leaves, sugar, oregano, cloves, pepper flakes and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the egg, onion, bread cubes, milk, parsley, garlic and salt. Crumble meat over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. In a skillet, brown the meatballs in batches in oil; drain.
- Add meatballs to sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. discard bay leaves. Serve meatballs and sauce over spaghetti.