The Marinara Mother

We met in a week of passive cooking

By extension of my most recent letter—my *official* announcement of Soup Season—in addition to soups and stews, I’m also suddenly cooking up meatballs like there is no tomorrow. My two favorite meatball recipes are Colu Henry’s Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini and Mascarpone, and Alison Roman’s Goodbye Meatballs. They are very different, but I cannot choose a favorite between the two. Colu’s has an edge for the unexpectedly deep sage flavor—sage is optional in her recipe, but in my humble opinion you must include it. The inclusion of zucchini makes them perfect for the produce of the moment, and also a bonus if you have a small child and you’re obsessing about how to get them to eat more vegetables (it’s me). The subtle mascarpone gives them an impossibly airy texture. Alison Roman’s recipe is for a more traditional Italian-American meatball—a mixture of 50/50 beef and pork, and the dairy is ricotta. Classic, easy, delicious.

Alison Roman’s Goodbye Meatballs

My Marinara Sauce begins with a sofrito of garlic and onion sauteed in olive oil, to which is added chili flakes and then chopped fresh tomatoes, followed by canned San Marzano tomatoes. Using kitchen scissors I “chop” each San Marzano directly into the pot—alternatively you can use crushed SM tomatoes instead. Then I fill the empty can up with water and add it. This sauce goes great with both styles of meatball that I called out. It simmers for about 20 minutes and then the meatballs (previously browned) are added to the pot and simmered for another 20ish minutes until fully cooked.

One thing I love about meatballs is that you can prep them and roll out just enough, reserving the remaining in lump-form, sealed in plastic wrap in the fridge or freezer for the next time they call out to you. This is why we ate meatballs multiple times last week, and how my humble pot of tomato sauce yielded not only one but three sauces.

You might be aware of the Soup Mother concept—not exactly new, but went viral when Natasha Pickowicz posted about it on Instagram. It’s the practice of leaving a pot of soup on the stove, and adding new ingredients to it day-by-day, as it yields a continuous soup. Instead of bothering to portion your leftovers into containers and put them into the fridge, you allow each meal to “flow into the next,” as Natasha puts it. I also often cook this way because I do not own a microwave and struggle to bring leftovers back to life if they’ve been sitting in the fridge. It’s generally easier to leave certain things on the stove at room temperture (I’ve said this before about rice too) if you know you’ll eat it the next day. This might not be advisable in the Tropics, but if your kitchen stays an average temp there shouldn’t be cause for concern. The same concept can apply here, and I was not unhappy about my week of tomato sauce.

Prepping the Turkey-Zucchini meatball mixture, as per Colu Henry’s receipe

9/20/23 - Marinara 1 / Meatballs!

Tycho and I had plans to bring dinner to another family’s home (they have a larger play area for the kiddos, and are normally the ones to host), but this time I decided to bring dinner—finally returning many a favor. Meatballs travel well. I made them during Tycho’s nap, and chaotically made the Marinara sauce in fits and starts after he woke up. When we were ready to set out I packed about 8 meatballs along with most of the tomato sauce in restaurant-style to-go containers, and bundled them up in the stroller with Tycho. After a successful playdate (and dinner w/ wine for me and Lauren, the other mom), we had some leftover which I happily left behind—as if I would walk away with what I brought for the host, but knowing that I had more meatball mixture waiting in the fridge, and probably just enough tomato sauce still warm on the stove, it was relieving to know I had another meal all set. As a sidenote: Lauren told me later that the food I left behind yielded two small meals later and that made me really happy.

9/21/23 - Marinara 2 / Meatballs, again!

The following day what did I do but repeat this process again with the remaining meatball mixture I had left in the fridge. There are few things more satisfying than knowing you have that kind of meal already prepped and ready to go. As I browned the meatballs, I began reheating the tomato sauce and felt that we could use more, so as it was coming to a simmer, I amplified what was left in the pot by adding half a can of San Marzano tomatoes as well as one large fresh tomato (chopped), and a cup or so of water. I adjusted seasoning with salt and a teaspoon of chili flakes. By this time the meatballs were also ready to go, so I added them to the pot and simmered for about 20 minutes—until I was confident they were done.

9/22/23 - Marinara 3 / Spaghetti with Cheater’s Meat Sauce

Another day passed and I was assessing the refridgerator for dinner ideas, preferably one that would include—yes—tomato sauce, since we still had some left. When I remembered the pound of ground beef we had I decided to whip up a quick meat sauce to serve with a pot of spaghetti. Again, suspecting that the tomato sauce might need another little boost, I poured the half a can of SM tomatoes reserved the previous day into the pot, filled it halfway up with water, gave it a little swirl to catch the tomato liquid clinging to the bottom and sides of the can, and added that as well. I let it bubble away while, in my smaller dutch oven, I softened a finely chopped onion and a couple chopped garlic cloves in some olive oil. I then added the meat and allowed it to brown over med-low heat. I seasoned it with kosher salt right off the bat, and once the meat was browned, added a generous tablespoon of fennel seed and also more chili flakes. Once the spices were toasted I added this mixture to the pot of tomato sauce and let it cook on low for about 20-30 minutes. Toward the end I put on a pot of heavily salted water for the spaghetti, adding the pasta directly to the pot of meat and tomato sauce with tongs. A 1/4 cup of pasta water is good to add too—more if you feel the sauce has reduced too much. I tossed thoroughly to allow the starch to marry the sauce and pasta together. Served with grated parmesan, this was so good—a perfect meal for a sleepy Friday night.

And that, of course, was the end of the Marinara Mother, but I wonder how long I could have stretched it. Now that I’m working again (on top of my job being a mom), I’m searching for ways to cook efficiently to save time and energy, while continuing to enjoy the process. It’s a lot harder right now but I’m sure I’ll find a new rhythm. Tips welcome!!

xo AV