Spaghetti Meatballs

In Italy, we show we care by making a delicious meal for the people we love. So today I’m showing you how easy it is to make my favourite homemade spaghetti meatballs. For my recipe I use a mix of beef and sausage meat but you can use just beef or just pork - it’s totally up to you, you can make this recipe your own.

Serves: 2 - 3

Ingredients

For the polpettine (little meatballs):

• 200g minced beef
• 100g sausage meat 
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs (pangrattato)
• 1 tbsp Grana Padano cheese, plus extra to serve
• 5g parsley, finely chopped
• A pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• 1 egg 

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 80ml red wine
• 250ml passata
• 10g basil
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 200g spaghettini 

Method

1. ​Add the chopped parsley to the bowl with the minced beef and sausage meat. Add a tablespoon of Grana Padano cheese, a tablespoon of breadcrumbs, a pinch of nutmeg (optional) and one egg. Add a good pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper and mix it all together until it's nice and well combined.
2. Prepare a bowl or tray with a layer of breadcrumbs. Now roll the meat into small round balls to make the meatballs. If you rub some olive oil into your hands before rolling it makes it much easier. As they will be served with spaghetti you don't want to make the meatballs too big, around 2-3cm in diameter. Place the meatballs on the plate or tray as you go.
3. Once you've rolled all of the meatballs, sprinkle them with more breadcrumbs. Ideally after you roll them you want to keep them in the fridge for about half an hour so the meat gets nice and firm and they hold their shape better while cooking.
4. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. Add in all of the meatballs and go with another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top. Gently fry the meatballs until they're just golden all over. Don’t stir them too often as they will break down. 
5. Add the chopped onion to the pan with the meatballs, give it a good stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Once the onions are cooked, go in with a good glug of red wine and cook this off .
6. Add the passata or tomato sauce, tear and add in some of the basil leaves and a pinch of salt and give it a good stir to combine.
7. Turn the heat down to a low heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook your spaghetti.
8. Add a ladle of pasta water to the sauce, followed by the cooked spaghetti and stir it all together. Add the remainder of the basil and some more cheese and give it one final stir.
9. Serve the spaghetti and top with the remaining meatballs from the pan and sprinkle with the rest of the Grana Padano cheese. Enjoy!

Watch the recipe video

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