Medium
4
By Tessa Kiros
Published 2010
If you’re organized, you could make the meatballs in tomato sauce the day before and just heat them up while you’re cooking the pasta. Once you have fried the meatballs, you will have some nice tasty oil with meaty bits in the saucepan. I like to sauté some just-parboiled spinach or even potatoes in this until they have mingled with the pan oil and drunk up the flavour. Serve the spinach as a side dish and then all you need is a couple of small scoops of ice cream for dessert and you’re settled.
For the meatballs, soak the bread in the milk in a small bowl, squishing it through your fingers so that it breaks up completely.
Put the mince in a large bowl with the parsley, cinnamon, cumin, the bread mixture and
Heat the light olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the meatballs in batches, making sure they are golden before you turn them. You should be able to shuffle them by holding the handle of the pan and giving a good flick with your wrist. If not, use tongs to turn them.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large saucepan which will eventually also hold the meatballs. Add the garlic cloves and, when you can smell them, add the tomato. Season with salt, add the basil and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Break up the tomatoes with
When all the meatballs have been fried, add them to the tomato sauce and stir in about
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water, following the packet instructions. Drain, return to the cooking pot and gently but thoroughly toss the butter through. Serve the pasta in individual bowls with a good ladleful of the tomato sauce, a few meatballs and a scattering of parmesan on top.
© 2010 All rights reserved. Published by Murdoch Books.