Meatballs
with Spaghetti and Fresh Tomato Sauce
The Americans invented
meatballs to go with spaghetti,
and there are lots of ground rules, but the main criteria for
any meatball is that it should have a kind of melt-in-the-mouth
lightness and not be heavy and bouncy. These, I think, are just right.
Serves : 4 (makes 24 meatballs)
Ingredients:
FOR THE
MEATBALLS:
8oz /
225g Minced Pork
1 Level dessertspoon Chopped Sage Leaves
3½oz / 95g Mortadella or Unsmoked
Bacon
2 Level tbsp Freshly Grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
2 Level tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley Leaves
3oz / 75g White
Bread without crusts, soaked in 2 tbsp Milk
1 Large Egg
A Little Nutmeg
Salt and Freshly
Milled Black Pepper
TO COOK
AND SERVE:
1lb / 450g Spaghetti
1 Quantity Classic Fresh Tomato
Sauce - the amount to serve 2 – 3 is sufficient
1 – 2 tbsp Groundnut or
Other Flavourless Oil,
for frying
A Little Parmesan
(Parmigiano Reggiano)
A Few Fresh Basil Leaves
Instructions:
- To
make the meatballs, all you do is place all the
ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and blend everything on a
low speed until thoroughly blended. If you don't have a processor, chop
everything as finely as possible with a sharp knife and blend it with a
fork.
- Now
take walnut-sized pieces of the mixture and shape them into rounds – you
should end up with 24 meatballs.
- Then
put them in a large dish or on a tray, cover with clingfilm
and chill for about 30 minutes to firm up.
- Meanwhile,
pre-heat the oven to a low setting.
- Then,
when you are ready to cook the meatballs, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying
pan and, over a fairly high heat, add 12 meatballs at a time and cook them
until they are crispy and brown all over, adding a little more oil as necessary.
This will take 4 – 5 minutes per batch, so as they are cooked, remove them
to a plate and keep them warm, covered with foil,
in the oven.
- Meanwhile,
cook the pasta
(see How to cook perfect pasta) and
gently warm the tomato sauce.
- Then
drain the pasta,
return it to the pan and toss in the tomato sauce,
quickly mix well and then pile it on to plates.
- Top
with the meatballs, sprinkle with some freshly grated Parmesan and
finish with a few basil
leaves.
If
you would like to make a donation to help me keep this site going