Spaghetti and “Eyeballs”

(This recipe is from our second cookbook, Gather) You are bound to get the kiddos gasping and giggling when you put a plate of what looks to be eyeballs in front of them. This is a simple recipe that is tons of fun to serve on Halloween, and the kids can help! They will love to “smush” the olive into the meatball for baking, and no matter what they look like, these “eyeballs” couldn’t be tastier.

20 minutes

1 hour

Difficulty

Show nutritional information

This is our estimate based on online research.
Calories:	279
Fat:	12 g
Carbohydrates:	10 g
Protein:	30 g
Calculated per serving.

Serves: 10

Ingredients

1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp Duck Fat, (sauce)
1 1 1 Onion, small, diced (sauce)
30 oz 30 oz 30 oz Tomato Sauce, 2-15 oz cans, no salt added (sauce)
6 oz 6 oz 6 oz Tomato Paste, (sauce)
1/4 cup 1/4 cup 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar, (sauce)
2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp Oregano, dried, (sauce)
Salt and Pepper, to taste (sauce), and again for the meatballs
2 2 2 Spaghetti Squash
3 lb 3 lb 3 lb Ground Beef, ("eyeballs")
3 cloves 3 cloves 3 cloves Garlic, minced ("eyeballs")
1 1 1 Shallot, minced ("eyeballs")
24 whole 24 whole 24 whole Olives, green olives with pimentos, one for each meatball ("eyeballs")
Fettuccine (Cappello's), (Pasta Alternative) Buy your pasta from our friends at Cappello's
This recipe is from our cookbook: Gather

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the duck fat and onion to the pan, and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine all ingredients. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Allow the sauce to come to a light boil, turn down to a simmer, and cover. Simmer the sauce until time for serving.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice the spaghetti squash in half, and remove the seeds. Place the spaghetti squash in a baking dish, and bake for 35 minutes or until fork-tender.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, garlic, shallot, salt, and pepper. Roll the meat into 1-ounce meatballs, and place them on a baking sheet. Stuff each green olive with a pimento, and place 1 olive in the center of each meatball to create an “eye.” Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes.
Remove the squash from the oven, allow it to cool enough to touch, and shred the squash with a fork to create “noodles.” Plate the spaghetti squash in a large bowl. Top it with the sauce, but do not toss. Top the squash and sauce with several meat “eyeballs.” Before serving, toss the dish to evenly coat the squash with sauce.