Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic dish found all over the world and is considered a staple dinner menu item. While we believe that most pasta dishes are considered to be Italian, you likely won’t find the dish anywhere in Italy. Continue reading for a short history on spaghetti and meatballs, and find a special recipe from owner Mary Giolitti on how to make her favorite meatballs at home!
While spaghetti and meatballs is not a meal served in Italy, the origin of the meal started with Italian immigrants coming to the U.S. in 1880-1920. Most of the immigrants were impoverished, but found the food in America to be much more affordable; they were spending about 25% of their income on food rather than the 75% they were spending in Italy. As they had more money for food, meat became a staple for Italian immigrants, and families were having meatballs for dinner more often!
Spaghetti was one of the only Italian ingredients available in the U.S. at the time, so people began eating the pasta and meatballs together. The Italian-American meal became more prominent over time, and today, it is one of the most well-loved dishes in the country.
Owner Mary Giolitti’s Favorite Meatball Recipe
Giolitti Deli owner Mary Giolitti is sharing her favorite meatball recipe so you can try it for yourself at home! To make the meatballs, you will need:
- 4 cups soft bread crumbs
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ lb lean ground beef
- 3 sprigs parsley, chopped
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 ⅔ cup imported parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons soft butter
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Start by moistening bread crumbs with the milk. In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together, just until combined. Form the mixture into balls and bake at 375 degrees until brown and cooked through- check on them after about 15-20 minutes. When they are done, add to your favorite marinara sauce and serve on their own, on a sandwich, or over a plate of hot spaghetti!
The answer is the Italian immigrants that first came to the United States, or in their words, “America”. According to the Ellis Island archives, from 1880 to 1920 around 4 million Italians emigrated from Italy to America. The vast majority, about 85 percent, came from southern Italy; from the regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, which are collectively known as the “Il Mezzogiorno” or “The Midday”, and Sicily. In those regions political and economic circumstances combined to leave the population in extreme poverty often forcing emigration.
Now in America and with their newfound “wealth”, meat was easily purchased. In the grocery store the newly arrived contadina could also find flour, fresh tomatoes and other fresh vegetables; as well as herbs and spices. Fresh milk and eggs were often delivered to the door. Now Mamma and Nonna could put the “best” on the table everyday and without the additional backbreaking labor of doing so. It was from this newly found “Abbondanza”, or plentitude, of food that spaghetti and meatballs as we know it in America today evolved.
In Italy, the contadina also made her own fresh pasta usually in the form of spaghetti or tagliatelle and a typical sauce was sugo di pomodoro, a simple sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, onions, garlic and basil. Purportedly this sauce was first developed in Naples where it was used in Spaghetti alla Marinara, or “sailor’s style spaghetti”. Note that in Italy “Marinara” is always used as an adjective, as in the aforementioned example, denoting the type of preparation, “sailor’s style”. In America, Marinara evolved from an adjective to a noun used to describe a specific tomato sauce. So in Italy, you’ll not hear that “Nonna makes a great Marinara”; instead, “Nonna makes a great sugo di pomodoro for Spaghetti alla Marinara”.
Now, for the new Italian-Americans, with the abbondanza of meat and other foods, the transformation began. Why use so much bread in the polpette when we can enjoy all this meat? Why make them small? After all, we’re in America where everything is bigger! And so the polpette evolved into the Italian-American meatballs. The meatball uses more meat and less bread resulting in a dryer, denser but no less tasty variation. Instead of golf balls, they were made in the size of baseballs or even larger. Finally, adopting the American style of starch, protein and vegetable together as a main course, the meatballs were combined with their favorite starch, spaghetti or other pasta, topped with their favorite sauce, Marinara; and maybe served with a side of rapini, more popularly known as broccoli rabe. So there you have it, the complete transformation to the red and white-checkered tablecloth main course delight found in every Italian-American restaurant today. But not found in Italy.
A couple of years ago a cousin, we’ll call her Mary, finally had the opportunity to visit Italy. Being Italian-American, it was a trip of a lifetime to visit the land of her ancestors and something she really looked forward to, especially for the food. Shortly after she returned I called to ask how she enjoyed the trip. Part of the conversation went something like this:
Italian Grandma Makes Meatballs (and Spaghetti)
FAQ
Do they eat meatballs with spaghetti in Italy?
What is the rule for spaghetti in Italy?
Do they put meat in spaghetti in Italy?
How do true Italians eat spaghetti?