Sauce, meatballs, a family favorite

When my daughter and I decided to start a cooking blog, I wanted to teach her the recipes she remembered eating at home, along with good basics that she could make for herself, her friends, and, one day, her own family.

I think of recipes as alive and ever-changing, so I plan to update many of the recipes I made for my children when they were growing up. I'd like the recipes to reflect our current taste and, especially, our attempt to eat healthfully without sacrificing flavor.

I have always loved this tomato sauce from The Silver Palate Cookbook, which has a rich and rustic flavor that results from cooking onions and carrots together in olive oil to begin the sauce.

This recipe was made immensely easier with the invention of the immersion blender, which eliminated the mess of ladling hot tomato sauce from the pot to the Cuisinart to puree. (But honestly, I loved this sauce so much, I did it!)

The meatball recipe is a combination of a basic Betty Crocker recipe I used for years with tweaks from another recipe from Kim Severson, a New York Times food writer who shared her mother's meatball recipe.

Neither of those recipes calls for ground turkey, but in the interest of reducing the fat, I tried it with ground turkey (and with gluten-free breadcrumbs for my celiac daughter), and I have to tell you I preferred the turkey to the ground beef. I made both versions, since my husband said he would just eat the sauce and pasta, he would not be eating turkey meatballs.

But he couldn't help himself: "I didn't want to like them," he admitted. "But they really are terrific."

The evidence was the pyramid of turkey meatballs atop the pasta and sauce on his plate.

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Makes 6 to 8 servings

For the sauce:

1/2 cup good-quality olive oil

3 cups finely chopped onions

2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and grated

2 cans (28 ounces each) peeled plum tomatoes

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, optional

For the meatballs:

2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

1 pound ground turkey

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs from two slices coarse bread, crusts removed

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Worcestershire  sauce

1 egg

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To make the sauce:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot. Add the onions and carrots and cook, covered, over low heat, until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. (Skip to meatball directions while sauce is cooking.)

2. Add the tomatoes, basil, salt, and cayenne pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

3. Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce, until the onions and carrots are incorporated.

4. Add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.

5. Taste and correct the seasoning. Add the balsamic vinegar if the sauce seems to lack intensity.

To make the meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients by hand in a large bowl, using a light touch.

2. Take about 2 ounces of meat in hand and roll between palms to form a ball that is packed but not compressed. Each should be 11/2 inches in diameter.

3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, Place the meatballs on the sheet without crowding. (The recipe should make 15 to 18 meatballs.)

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Drain on paper towels, if necessary, then add meatballs to the sauce. Heat through and serve with pasta.

Note: For gluten-free version, use Udi's Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread for the breadcrumbs, and Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta for the pasta.

Sauce adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook; meatballs adapted from a recipe for Kim Severson's mother's meatballs.

Per serving (based on 8): 396 calories, 22 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrates, 12 grams sugar, 24 grams fat, 85 milligrams cholesterol, 716 milligrams sodium, 4 grams dietary fiber.EndText