Let's Make...Spaghetti & Meatballs
 
 
Perfect, simple, delicious spaghetti and meatballs.
Author:
Serves: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 slices white bread, crusts removed
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 1 pound (500g) minced beef (or any combination of beef, veal and pork)
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup finely grated parmesan (loosely packed), plus extra, to serve
  • ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
  • 1 heaped teaspoon dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2-4 sprigs of basil (about ½ cup basil leaves, loosely packed, stalks reserved)
  • 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes (Italian brands are often better)
  • Your favourite pasta, to serve
Instructions
  1. Place the bread into a large mixing bowl and pour over the milk. Leave to soak for 5 minutes, while you gather the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Add the meat, egg, parmesan, parsley, mustard, plenty of cracked pepper and a pinch of salt to the bowl with the bread, and use your hands to mix everything very thoroughly together. Aim to break the bread up and distribute it through the mix.
  3. Cover the bowl with plastic, and place in the fridge to firm up, for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Taking about 2 heaped teaspoons of the mixture at a time, roll the meatballs and place them on a lined tray (or you can roll them and place them straight into the hot pan, if you're quick).
  5. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add a layer of meatballs (I do half at a time) being careful not to crowd the pan, and cook them until browned on all sides.
  6. Remove to a plate, and continue until they're all browned, adding more oil, if required. Don't worry about cooking them through, as they will finish cooking in the sauce.
  7. When the meatballs are all done, turn off the heat, but don't clean out the pan.
  8. Peel and finely slice the garlic and finely slice the basil stalks, discarding any that are too woody.
  9. Place the pan back on a medium heat, and add a little more oil, if required. Add the garlic and basil stalks and cook until the garlic is softened. Add in the tomatoes, and swill a little water in each can, adding that to the pan as well. The sauce should be quite liquid.
  10. Season the sauce with a pinch of salt, and then add in the browned meatballs. Stir gently, and then turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through, and the sauce is thick. Scatter over the basil leaves.
  11. Serve over your favourite long pasta, with plenty of freshly grated parmesan.
Recipe by The Sugar Hit at http://www.thesugarhit.com/dev/2015/02/the-best-spaghetti-meatballs-recipe.html