An insanely simple pasta dish with a couple of twists that really jazz it up. The beauty of this recipe is that both the meatballs and sauce can be made up in big batches and saved either in the fridge or the freezer for a quick lunch or dinner...
Tomato Sauce
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tbsp Tomato Puree
2 Tbsp Ketchup (trust me)
2 Tbsp Paprika
1/2 a Large Chilli
1/2 a Red Onion
7 or 8 Fresh Basil Leaves
2 or 3 Garlic Cloves
Salt & Pepper (to your own taste)
Optional
Sundried Tomato Paste
1/2 a Blitzed up Pepper (any colour)
Meatballs
250g Beef or Lamb Mince (I use beef but lamb is delightful also)
3 slices of crumbed bread (any sliced bread or even stale bread you have)
Zest of 1 Lemon (the show-stopping ingredient)
1 Tbsp Paprika
Good grate of Parmesan Cheese (around 40grams)
1 Egg Yolk
Flour
Salt & Pepper
+ Whatever Pasta you love most.
1. Firstly put the kettle on and get out a frying pan, and two saucepans (small one for sauce, big one for pasta).
2. Second, lob the chopped tomatoes in a pot with the Tomato puree, Ketchup, Paprika & Salt & Pepper (you can always add more later so don't obliterate it). Bring up to bubbling point on a medium heat, then turn down to low.
3. Next up are the meatballs. Grab a big mixing bowl and empty in all the meatball ingredients mentioned above. There are now 2 options, you can be gay and mix it all together with a wooden spoon or whatever else does the job. Or you do a far better job and get stuck in with your hands. Literally squelch the mixture between your fingers until the mix is consistent in look and feel.
4. Now to begin shaping the meatballs. I prefer smaller balls as they save fannying about with further chopping when you are eating them. With this in mind, make them to mouth size. Roll them using both your hands and then drop into the bowl/plate of flour. Dust off any excess flour and set out on a plate. Mine are typically 2cm in diameter.
5. Add the boiling water to the designated pasta saucepan and add a pinch of salt. Load in as much pasta as you would like for the two of you, following the appropriate cooking times for your pasta selection. This is usually about 10-12 minutes.
6. Now to finish the sauce. Finely chop the Onion and Chilli and add to the frying pan on a medium heat. Keep an eye on the pan to make sure none of it is catching or burning. This should take about 4 or 5 minutes, then add to the pot of sauce.
7. Add a little more oil in the frying pan and add the crushed garlic, tipping the pan toward you while you do. The idea is to sort of shallow fry the Garlic in the corner of the pan and for no longer than 30 seconds (very easy to over cook garlic). Add to the sauce also.
8. Still in the same frying pan, add a good lug of oil and throw in the meatballs. Cook on a relatively high heat but not so much that they burn to easily. The key is to keep rustling the pan to keep them moving and cooking consistently. Based on balls of about 2cm's in size, cook for about 5 or 6 minutes, or until nicely golden on the outside.
9. When the pasta and meatballs are cooked, serve up the pasta on each plate, the meatballs on top, then smother with as much sauce as you desire. Finally, top off with a grating of Parmesan, the chopped basil and a dusting of pepper. (This is what makes the dish look the balls.
Enjoy.
