Main/Pastas

Spaghetti And Meatballs

Time: 1 hr 10 min Yields: serves Cost: $22.69 per serve Difficulty: 5/10

With over-the-phone advice from Lorenzo. Rolling the meatballs in flour stops them breaking apart and makes them crispier. 100% beef is fine. Veal mince is a great texture. I’ve tried adding milk-soaked bread pieces but I don’t get it and they’re always too big anyway.

Ingredients

    meatballs

  • Beef mince (70% pork) 500 grams
  • Breadcrumbs 0.5 cups
  • Eggs 1 whole
  • Brown onions 0.5 whole
  • Garlic 3 cloves
  • Parsley 5 sprigs (0.5 cup)
  • Salt 2 tsp
  • Pepper to taste
  • Plain flour 3 tbsp (to roll meatballs in)
  • Frozen garlic bread 1 whole

    • sauce

  • Brown onions 1 whole
  • Garlic 5 cloves
  • Tomato paste 8 tbsp

    • sauce

  • Tomato passata 700 grams (1 jar)
  • Salt 2 tsp
  • White sugar 1 tsp
  • Dried oregano (fresh) to taste
  • Red wine 0.25 cups
  • Spaghetti 500 grams (1 pack)
  • Parmesan to taste

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
  2. Boil water in a large pot for pasta. Salt the water
  3. Very finely dice 0.5 onions, 3 cloves garlic and parsley.
  4. Mix meatball ingredients in a bowl.
  5. Shape mix into 2cm balls and roll lightly in flour.
  6. Put garlic bread in oven as packet says.
  7. Finely chop remaining onions and garlic.
  8. Heat oil in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Add onion fry for 5 minutes.
  9. Add garlic and tomato paste, fry for 2 minutes.
  10. Add red wine to cook it off.
  11. Add passata, sugar, salt, pepper to pot, bring to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
  12. Fry meatballs in batches on high heat in oil, 8 or so at a time, until they brown, remove to bowl.
  13. Add spaghetti to boiling water, cook for 10 min.
  14. Add meatballs to sauce and cook for 5 minutes to absorb flavour.
  15. Drain spaghetti.
  16. Shave parmesan.
  17. Assemble at table.