Marinara Sauce for Baked Italian Meatballs with Pasta

Marinara Sauce for Baked Italian Meatballs with Pasta

Serves 6

1 tsp. olive oil

1 onion, sliced thinly lengthwise

1 pkg. frozen spinach

2 anchovies, packed in water (secret to the dish you won’t believe the depth of flavor!)

2 tsp. dried basil

2 cups fresh button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large jar of marinara sauce (I prefer to use my homemade sauce, however use your favorite)

12 Baked Italian Meatballs (see previous posting for the recipe)

½ a lemon, juiced (this freshens the sauce and is a great background to the tomatoes)

1 box whole wheat spaghetti noodles

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water with ¼ c. kosher salt to a boil for noodles. In a large pot, start by heating one tsp olive oil and sweating the onions with the burner on medium high heat. Sprinkle onion with a pinch of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Add spinach, anchovies, garlic and basil to the pot and stir until combined. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with a tiny more salt and fresh ground pepper. Stirring ingredients in the pot occasionally and let cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat back to medium and add your marinara sauce and meatballs.    

Add noodles to boiling water and set your timer for 10 minutes. Add the fresh squeezed lemon juice to the sauce. Preheat broiler to low.  To serve grease small crocks and add a scoop of cooked noodles drained, followed with sauce and five or six meatballs, top with cheese of your choice (I prefer an Italian blend that includes provolone because it browns well).  Broil dish for 3-4 minutes until bubbly and light brown on top.