Summertime Spaghetti with Grilled Meatballs

End of school approaching. Mason is wrapping up second grade with the energy of someone who has accomplished everything on their list and is ready for summer. Mrs. Chen gave him a special reading award at the end-of-year assembly, and he walked to the stage with the careful, modest walk of someone who knows he earned it and doesn't need to showboat. I was in the audience. I clapped too loud. I am always the parent who claps too loud.

Lily's kindergarten is ending next week, and she is devastated about leaving Mrs. Cho and Peanut the hamster. She asked if we could adopt Peanut for the summer. I said no. She asked if Peanut could visit. I said probably not. She asked if she could write Peanut a letter. I said yes, because some battles are worth fighting and some are worth conceding, and a letter to a hamster is a concession that costs me nothing and gives her everything.

Memorial Day weekend: quiet. Just us. I grilled chicken and made potato salad and we ate in the backyard and the evening was warm and long and the sky was the color of honey, and I thought about Dad and the ranch and the flag he flew every Memorial Day and the way he stood on the porch and didn't say much. He didn't fly the flag this year. The flag was at the ranch, and the ranch is gone. I'll buy him a new flag. For Father's Day. For the house in Twin Falls that is his now, even if it isn't what he planned.

I made a grilled vegetable platter — zucchini, peppers, onions, asparagus, brushed with olive oil and garlic, charred on the grill. Simple, seasonal, the taste of May. Mason ate the peppers. Lily ate the asparagus tips and declared them "tiny trees." The kids are growing up in a house where grilled vegetables are normal, where fresh food is expected, where the garden and the table are connected by a path that runs through their mother's hands. This is the education that matters. Not the grades or the awards. This. The knowledge that food comes from somewhere, and that somewhere is close, and that the hands that grew it are the same hands that held you.

That Memorial Day evening—the honey-colored sky, the backyard, the grill still warm after the vegetables came off—it felt like the kind of night that deserves a real meal at the center of it. The grilled vegetable platter was simple and seasonal, but I wanted something with a little more weight, something that said occasion without saying effort. This summertime spaghetti with grilled meatballs is exactly that: it carries the char and the smoke from the grill into a bright, tomato-forward pasta that Mason will eat two bowls of and Lily will declare “the red noodles.” It’s the meal I think about when I think about what summer cooking is supposed to feel like—outdoors, unhurried, made with hands that know what they’re doing.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb spaghetti
1 lb ground beef (80/20)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil, for brushing
1 (28 oz) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil (for sauce)
1 teaspoon sugar
8–10 fresh basil leaves, torn

Instructions

Make the meatball mixture. In a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs and milk and let soak for 2 minutes. Add ground beef, ground pork, egg, minced garlic, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix gently with your hands until just combined—do not overwork.
Form the meatballs. Roll mixture into golf-ball-sized meatballs, about 1 1/2 inches across. You should get roughly 20–24 meatballs. Place on a plate, brush lightly with olive oil, and refrigerate for 10 minutes while the grill heats.
Preheat the grill. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high (about 400°F). Clean and oil the grates well—meatballs need a clean surface to release without tearing.
Make the summer sauce. While the grill heats, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook 5–6 minutes until softened. Add sliced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute more. Pour in crushed tomatoes, add sugar, and season with salt. Simmer uncovered on low while you grill the meatballs, about 20 minutes. Stir in torn basil at the end.
Grill the meatballs. Place meatballs on the grill and cook, turning once or twice, until charred in spots and cooked through, about 10–12 minutes total. Internal temperature should reach 165°F. Transfer to a plate to rest.
Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
Combine and serve. Toss hot spaghetti with the summer sauce, adding a splash of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen. Divide pasta into bowls and top with grilled meatballs. Finish with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Nutrition (per serving)

Summertime Spaghetti with Grilled Meatballs — The Meal That Tastes Like a Long May Evening