I hope you guys all had an amazing holiday weekend! We did so much vegging out, lying on the couch, watching movies and lots and lots of cooking, which was actually lovely.
One of the dishes that I made for everyone for lunch, I had to turn around and share with you right away because it was so good!
I made a huge double recipe of Spicy Rigatoni with Eggplant and Meatballs was the best way to end the weekend and everyone was crazy for it. My whole family came and ate it all in one sitting- and let me tell you, that was a lot of food!
I thought that this would be a great recipe for you guys for the Holiday season. Amazing comfort food on these cold winter nights, or perfect for if you are having a bunch of people over and want an easy, weirdly fast and delicious dinner.
- 1 pound rigatoni (I used gluten-free pasta)
- Meatballs:
- 1pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- ½ cup mashed potato flakes
- Eggplant:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 eggplant, peeled and large diced
- Kosher salt
- Spicy Marinara:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ a large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- ⅓ cup white wine
- 28-ounce whole peeled tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons dried Greek oregano
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- kosher salt to taste
- For the Marinara, in a large pan, heat the olive oil and onion over medium heat. Cook 3 minutes until the onions are softened. Add the garlic and cook another 3 minutes until onions are softened and lightly browned.
- Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits. Cook until the onions are very soft and translucent. Transfer to the jar of a blender and add the tomatoes and the oregano and red pepper flakes. Puree until smooth. Season to taste with kosher salt.
- Pour the sauce back in the large pan and add a lid. Simmer over lowest heat while preparing everything else.
- For the Meatballs, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil and red pepper flakes. Pulse on high until smooth and then add to a bowl. Add the ground beef and pork to the mixture and add the mashed potato flakes, oregano and parsley. With clean hands, mix it all together and form the meatballs. Bake the meatballs for exactly 15 minutes.
- While the Meatballs are cooking, cook the pasta to al dente, according to the manufacturers directions.
- While the pasta and meatballs are cooking, fry the eggplant. I like to do this in a non-stick pan or a heavy skillet that is well seasoned and doesn’t stick. Stir the eggplant until golden and fried- about 8 minutes. Then add the fried eggplant to the marinara.
- When the meatballs come out of the oven, there will be a lot of fat on the pan. Pull the meatballs from the pan and gently place them in the pot of marinara with the eggplant. Dispose of the fat.
- When the pasta is ready, I take a few scoops of the sauce and toss the pasta with it. Put it on a platter and then top wit the rest of the sauce and all of the meatballs.
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Heather, you haven’t listed the meat amounts…please…how much beef, pok etc?
Thank you, jay
OMG sorry Jay!!! thank you! I fixed it!
Hi Heather, I plan to make this ASAP, looks like the most amazing comfort food to combat our cold days in Phoenix! I looked through the recipe a couple of times and don’t see what kind/how much meat goes in the meatballs. Thanks so much for all your holiday posts, I am actually somewhat inspired to shop for a few gifts and bake a few yummy things.
OMG!!! thank you! I fixed it!
Really love this recipe. and pork is one of my favorite meals on the table. I really love this. Hope mornington restaurants can have this kind of dish in their menu.