Leave these lightly spiced meatballs to bake while you start pouring the wine.
Ingredients
- 100ml olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped basil stems
- 1 drained anchovy fillet, chopped
- 2 brown onions, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1L (4 cups) passata
- 400g can crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 2 slices Italian bread, crusts trimmed
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 4 slices pancetta, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1kg pork and veal mince
- 1 egg, lightly whisked
- 25g (1/3 cup) finely grated parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh continental parsley
- 500g spaghetti, cooked
Method
- Step 1Heat 60ml (1/4 cup) oil in a flameproof casserole dish over low heat. Cook the basil stem, anchovy and half the onion and garlic, stirring, for 8-10 minutes or until onion is soft. Stir in the passata, tomato and basil leaves. Season. Simmer, stirring often, for 15 minutes.
- Step 2Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160C. Chop bread. Combine bread and milk in a bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Stir in pancetta, chilli, nutmeg and remaining onion and garlic for 8 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Cool. Stir in mince, egg, parmesan and parsley. Season. Roll into balls. Heat remaining oil in the pan over medium heat. Cook the meatballs, in 3 batches, stirring, for 5 minutes or until brown.
- Step 3Add the meatballs to the sauce. Cover and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with spaghetti.
- Low carb
Nutrition
3418 kj
Energy
30g
Fat Total
8g
Saturated Fat
7g
Fibre
56g
Protein
135mg
Cholesterol
801.04mg
Sodium
11g
Carbs (sugar)
76g
Carbs (total)
All nutrition values are per serve
Notes
Want to get ahead? You can easily make this in about an hour but to make it even easier…
- Roll the meatballs up to 1 day ahead. Cover and store in the fridge.
- Make the tomato sauce up to 3 days ahead. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freeze the meatballs in the sauce up to 3 months ahead – just thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat while you cook the pasta.
- Author: Katrina Woodman
- Image credit: Jeremy Simons
- Publication: Australian Good Taste
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