Everyday Epicurean

We’re puppy-sitting over Easter and two of them are due for their worming treatment. Since puppies are far from likely to take a worming pill, one needs to bribe them (or fool them), by hiding it in some mince. Thus, I had to cook something with mince tonight and therefore decided on meatballs, as they are a pleasant change from bolognese or chilli con carne.

h2. Ingredients.

h3. Meatballs

* 400 g of beef mince
* 3 or 4 Tablespoons of bread crumbs
* a couple of dashes of Maggi seasoning (or ketsup manis or soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce)
* 1 egg
* 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
* salt and pepper

h3. Sauce

* 1 red (Spanish) onion
* 4 cloves of garlic
* 1 can of roma tomatoes
* 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
* 2 teaspoons of dried basil (or use half a bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped)
* some boiling water, maybe three quarters of a cup
* dash of maggi (or other seasoning as above)
* salt and pepper
* quarter of a cup of red wine

h3. Pasta

* dried pasta, 250 g or so for 5 with leftovers
* boiling water, 2 L
* 1 Tablespoon of salt

h2. Method.

h3. To make the Meatballs

Put the mince in a mixing bowl and add the bread-crumbs. Combine with a wooden spoon (or your hands, if that’s what takes your fancy). Add the spices, and egg and mix thoroughly. Add the tomato paste and mix well again. The mince should have a slightly firmer feel to it, and be fairly smooth.

Take a soup spoons worth of mince and roll it between your palms to form a ball. Set aside on a plate. Repeat until all the mince has been converted to meat balls.

h3. To make the Sauce

NB: Start the pasta at this stage in order to have it finished when the sauce/meatballs are ready.

Chop your onion and garlic finely, and place in a medium-large saucepan with some olive oil. Add the wine and sauté until the onion is soft, but make sure not to brown the onion.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and basil. Crush the tomatoes with your spoon, mix well over medium heat. Allow to reduce 1/3 or so, stirring as needed.

Add the boiling water to bring the volume up, and season to taste with salt and pepper and maggi.

Place the meatballs into the sauce, making sure none touch each other initially (to avoid sticking, they can touch after the outside of the meat ball has browned). Cover and simmer on reduced heat for 10 to 15 minutes (basically until the pasta is cooked).

When the pasta is done, drain and cover to keep warm.

If the sauce is too runny, increase the heat and stirring carefully (so as to not break the meatballs) reduce the sauce to the desired consistency.

Serve the meatballs and sauce on a bed of pasta.