Sriracha Spaghetti and Meatballs

This is LITERALLY one-a-spicy-a-meat-a-ball!  And it's all due to my favorite Asian condiment, Sriracha!

If you read the back label of this hot sauce, it suggests to add it to soups, sauces, pastas, pizzas, noodles or anything that needs a spicy kick to it.  Why I never thought to add it to spaghetti meatballs is beyond me.  My normal solution is to just sprinkle the heck out of my spaghetti meatballs with crushed red pepper flakes.  Using Sriracha makes the flavor more intense and uniform.

Honestly, it's not often that I find a dish to be *too* spicy and with having added 1.5 tablespoons of the hot stuff, I found it to be plenty spicy.  Adjust up or down to suit your personal needs.  The other modifications I made were to use turkey instead of beef and to bake my meatballs in a mini muffin tin (a trick I learned with a previous recipe) instead of pan frying them.

By the way, if you choose not to toss your sauce and meatballs with your spaghetti, the leftovers were great as subs.  Noms!

One Year Ago: Foil-Baked White Fish with Ginger over Wilted Greens
Two Years Ago: Croque Monsieur
Four Years Ago: Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole

Sriracha Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

• ½ pound ground beef or ground turkey
• ½ pound ground pork 
• ¼ cup bread crumbs 
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten 
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning 
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha

For the Sauce and Spaghetti

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• ½ onion, chopped 
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• ½ cup red wine 
• 1 (six-ounce) can of tomato paste 
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans of diced tomatoes 
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Sriracha, depending on how hot you like it 
• 1 teaspoon dried basil 
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• ½ teaspoon pepper 
• ¾ pound spaghetti 

Directions

1. In a bowl combine the ground meats, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, seasoning and 1 teaspoon Sriracha. Mix to combine and form meat into 1-inch round meatballs.
2. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.  Place a single meatball in each well. Refrigerate for a half hour. 
3. Preheat oven to 375F.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and slightly browned.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess grease.
4. In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the onion and sauté until soft, about three minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and scrape up the brown bits in the pan. Add the tomato paste and cook for two minutes more. Add tomatoes, sugar. Sriracha, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes more. 
5. Meanwhile, prepare the spaghetti per package directions. Drain and if desired, toss the spaghetti with the meatballs and sauce. Alternatively, keep them separated and serve the sauce and meatballs on top of the noodles.

Source: Slightly modified from So Tasty, So Yummy