Spaghetti and Meatballs

These meatballs are seriously life. I use a combination of pork and beef mince, like all good Italians, for these meatballs with just a simple passata sauce. I generally make these when I’m hanging for some comfort food and when I know I need a good serve of iron and zinc. I eat meat but not all that often, maybe only once or twice a week and sometimes I can forget to for weeks at a time. And I say forget, because I really do well with a little red meat in my diet but I normally get so busy (and a bit lazy) towards the end of the day that I just end up eating cheese and bread and olives for dinner! Sad I know!

Anyway this is what I’ll be having today and tomorrow and maybe even Saturday. But remember, if you cook pasta and keep it in the fridge for later, you can only eat it within 24 hours! You must throw it away after 24 hours due to the bacteria that can grow because of the high water content of the food. I learnt this at uni during food science and never forgot it because loads of people I know eat leftovers for days, and you could be risking your wellbeing to the likes of salmonella. YUCK!

Anyway, moral of the story is, cook your pasta fresh and you can freeze your meatballs 🙂

Print Recipe

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS

Ingredients

• 150g lean beef mince
• 150g pork mince
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 red onion, peeled
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 jar passata
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
• Spaghetti, 85g dry per person, cooked as per packet instructions

Instructions

• Place onion, garlic, parmesan, bread crumbs, salt and pepper into a food processor and process until onion is diced finely.
• Add minces and pulse until well combined.
• Shape mixture into meatballs, a little smaller than golf balls.
• Place into a large frypan and add a little olive oil. Cook meatballs until golden all over, turning every few minutes.
• Add passata and parsley to the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes on low.
• Cook your pasta 10 minutes before your meatballs are ready to 'al dente'.
• When the meatballs are ready, add your drained cooked pasta to the meatballs and sauce, tossing until coated. Serve!