Rustic Meatballs
Tomato rich, Italian style meatballs are a family favourite of mine. Always on the menu, whether as a week day favourite or weekend family treat.
For this recipe I actually cooked the meatballs in an electric ‘slow cooker’, as I was out and about for much of the day. It worked a treat. I followed the recipe up to the last stage, and then rather than use the oven I tipped it all into the slow cooker, and left on ‘auto cook’ for 4-5 hours…. it was perfect when we eventually all sat down to eat after a very long, busy day!
Ingredients
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Meatballs
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750g- minced beef
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1 medium red onion- papery skin removed, cut into quarters
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2 sliced of white bread- crusts removed, soaked in 3 tbsp cold water
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1 whole egg
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½ tsp dried chilli flakes- optional
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3 tbsp fresh parsley- roughly chopped
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2 cloves garlic- crushed
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Sea salt flakes- pinch
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Freshly ground black pepper- generous amount
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Oil for cooking- olive oil, rapeseed or sunflower
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Tomato Sauce
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1 medium red onion- finely chopped
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1 tbsp oil
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1 red chilli- finely chopped
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2 x 400g tins tomatoes- chopped
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1 x can of water- using the tomato tin as a guide
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1 tbsp tomato puree
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2 bayleaves
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1 capful cider vinegar
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1 tsp sugar- optional
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500g cooked spaghetti
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olive oil and parmesan cheese- to taste
Instructions
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Prepare meatballs:
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01 Place the onion, garlic, and herbs into food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
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02 Add minced beef, soaked bread, egg, seasonings and pulse until all combined, scaling bowl to make sure all herbs etc are incorporated.
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03 With wet hands shape into balls and place on a board lined with baking paper to prevent sticking.
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Partial cooking:
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04 Heat generous amount of oil in flat bottomed pan. Heat to smoking. Add meatballs and sear on both sides until nicely browned. Remove, place in a bowl and keep to oneside.
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Prepare tomato sauce:
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05 Place oil in a large pan, add onions and chilli. Cook until soft. Add chopped tinned tomatoes, water and all other ingredients. Check seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
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06 After 5 minutes add meatballs. Place in a moderate oven and gently cook for 1-2 hours, or tip all ingredients into a slow cooker and 'auto cook' for up to 4-5 hours.
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07 Serve with plenty of freshly cooked spaghetti, lightly tossed in a touch of olive oil and seasonings, and of course, topped with plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
This recipe is good for oven cooking or by a commercial slow cooker (crock pot as they called them in my day, many moons ago!). This dish can also be cooked on the stove, but I always prefer the end result from an oven bake or slow cooker. Finally if time is really against you, for the tomato sauce just open a jar of commercially prepared tomato sauce - say a 737g jar, heat up, add the meatballs and continue to cook.
