Bad, BAD photo. interesting concept.
Since making spaghetti and meatballs always seems to take up every pan and dish in the house, the technique that I borrowed from the recipe below seemed like it would be a good idea. Only one pot in which to cook meatballs, pasta and sauce?
The pros: a thick, glossy sauce that is cooked right into the pasta for added flavor and definitely less dishes. The cons: More salt than I would usually use in one recipe and a finished dish that, though delicious, tastes slightly different than what my mouth is expecting when faced with spaghetti and meatballs. The texture was slightly off; not disagreeably so, just somehow thicker than expected.
I will definitely use the technique again, but perhaps not for traditional pasta dishes where I have clear expectations of taste and mouth-feel.
This is a recipe for 2 portions that can be multiplied by as many portions as you need to cook. I have left it deliberately vague as portion sizes change by appetite, preferences and occasion.
2 portions uncooked spaghetti
2 portions meatballs (I usually plan on 3 per person)
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 tsp olive oil
Salt
Parmesan
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. As soon as the oil sizzles, add the meatballs and sear on all sides until a rich brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
Hearing the screams of millions of Italian Nonnas in your head, break your spaghetti noodles in half so that they can lie flat in the pan. Add the tomato sauce and the water. Stir to combine and make sure that all of the pasta is immersed in liquid. Your sauce will be much thinner than you think it should be but the starch from the noodles will thicken it.
Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for the amount of time indicated on box. Remove the cover, stir and cook, uncovered, an additional 2 minutes.
Taste the pasta for "doneness" and salt your dish. Because the pasta cooked in sauce and not in salted water, you will have to overcompensate your seasoning at this point.
Serve topped with Parmesan and let me know what yiu think.
Inspiration recipe, here.