Hands-Off Spaghetti and Meatballs - Lower Sodium Style

On the weekends, I love doing more involved recipes. This one is relatively hands off, but does require making the meatballs from scratch. And my meatballs use pesto to boost the flavor.

Serves 4. About 175mg sodium

Ingredients

Pesto:

• 1.5 oz basil

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons pine nuts

• 3 garlic cloves

Combine ingredients in a blender and let her rip.

Meatballs:

• Pesto sauce as above

• 1 lbs 90% lean ground beef

• 3/4 cup panko

• 1/2 tsp pepper

Using your hands, combine everything together. Divide into 15 balls.

Spaghetti sauce:

• 2 15oz cans NSA tomato sauce

• 1 6oz can tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon oregano

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 tsp dried onion

• 1 teaspoon fennel seed*, toasted and crushed for extra flavor

• Pinch of sugar

Combine all ingredients.

Preheat oven to 475° F. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Add 12 oz of spaghetti, broken in half, and top with sauce. Add 2 cups water and toss to coat. Add meat balls, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, add 1/2 cup water and stir using a fork. Noodles will be a little stiff still. Make sure any noodle strands are tucked back into sauce. Bake another 10 minutes uncovered. Serve with any remaining basil.

*Toasting and crushing fennel seed releases that sweet anise like flavor into your sauce. Be sure to use a low heat to avoid turning it rancid. An extra step, absolutely. Worth it? 1000%. Again, its amplifying flavors so the tastebuds don't land on the missing sodium.