Bowties with Turkey Meatballs

What kid does not like meatball?  When I saw this recipe here I knew that I was going to make it because I thought my kids would devour the meatballs, and they did after some coaxing.  Let me explain my kids do not like spaghetti sauce, they like plain pasta.  However the meatballs were cooked in the sauce so they were out of luck, but much to my joy after trying the meatballs they all discovered that they were really good.  These meatballs were really flavourful, I think that it was the cheese!

Ingredients
1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup grated Romano
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
1 pound dried bowtie pasta
Directions
In a large bowl add bread crumbs milk and mix until well combined. Mix in eggs and 1/2 cup Romano cheese and mix well. Add turkeyand gently combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into golf-size balls.
Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 12-15 minutes until they are cooked through.  Turn off heat and keep warm on stove. Be careful not to overhandle the meatballs since they are soft and fragile.
In a large pot, bring to a boil 6 quarts of salted water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander. Do not rinse pasta with water since you want to retain the pasta natural starches so that the sauce will cling to the penne.
Remove meatballs from sauce and place in serving bowl. Pour some tomato sauce over meatballs, but leave about 1 cup of sauce in skillet. Place the cooked bowties into the skillet with the remaining sauce and toss well. Pour sauced pasta into a large serving bowl. Serve alongside the meatballs.


Simple Tomato Sauce:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Addtomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning.