Old-fashioned meatballs in tomato sauce
This rich sauce can be used for may different things, it is often handy to make a double batch and use it in a vegetarian dish another night
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
10
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
30
MINUTES
Ingredients
dash of olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tins of tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 bunch of thyme, removed from the stalk
1 tsp honey
bunch of basil, removed from the stalk
340g minced beef
bunch of parsley, finely chopped
85g Parmesan, grated
½ tbsp tomato purée
25g breadcrumbs
1 egg
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion until it turns translucent, add the garlic and stir fry for a minute then add the tomatoes, vinegar and thyme. Allow to bubble away over a low heat with a lid on for 20 minutes.
Add the honey and basil and taste and season. Allow to bubble away for another ten minutes or so.
In the meantime put the mince into a bowl and add the parsley, Parmesan, purée and breadcrumbs as well as some seasoning. Stir it all together then stir through the egg.
Roll about a soup spoon of the mixture into a ball and fry it in a pan of heated oil, turning them so that they cook through.
Spaghetti is the most typical pasta served with meatballs but any other shapes will do. You can either toss the meat balls in the sauce or spoon it over them.
