Meatballs in tomato sauce get a little lighter

By Melissa Clark, The New York Times

Meatballs in tomato sauce are a comforting thing, a ruddy, garlicky Italian American classic meant to be nestled on a pile of spaghetti and showered in cheese.

This dish is not that.

True, it has meatballs, assertively flavored with garlic and browned in hot oil. And yes, they finish cooking in a savory, brick-red tomato sauce. But that’s where the similarities end. Because these are summer meatballs.

The traditional dish, to my mind, is an ideal winter companion. A cozy mix of canned tomatoes and olive oil bubbling leisurely on the stove, it’s perfect to sit close by when it’s chilly out, as warming as a woolly turtleneck.

Think of this version as meatballs all decked out in their resort wear. Made from fresh summer tomatoes that are only briefly cooked, the sauce stays juicy and bright — and making it won’t heat up your kitchen. What the dish loses in long-cooked marinara richness, it...