🍝 Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

 inspired by Rachel Roddy

🍝 Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (serves 6–8)

Ingredients

• 500 g beef mince

• 400 g sausage meat (squeezed from skins if using sausages)

• 2 slices white bread (about 60 g), crusts off

• 100 ml milk (or enough to soak the bread until soft)

• 1 egg

• 50 g Parmesan, finely grated

• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated

• Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped

• Pinch of nutmeg (¼ tsp)

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce

• 2 × 400 g tins peeled plum tomatoes (or passata)

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, lightly crushed

• Pinch of sugar (optional, to balance acidity)

• Salt and black pepper

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Method

1. Soak the bread

   • Tear bread into chunks, soak in the milk until soft. Squeeze out excess milk and mash into a paste.

2. Make the meatball mixture

   • In a large bowl mix: beef mince, sausage meat, soaked bread, egg, Parmesan, garlic, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

   • Use your hands to gently combine until even, but don’t overmix.

   • Roll into walnut-sized balls (about 35–40 pieces).

3. Prepare the sauce

   • In a wide pan, gently heat olive oil and the crushed garlic until fragrant.

   • Add tinned tomatoes (break them up with a spoon). Season with salt, pepper, and sugar if needed.

   • Simmer 5 minutes.

4. Cook the meatballs

   • Drop the raw meatballs straight into the simmering sauce — don’t fry first.

   • Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil.

   • Cover and cook 30–35 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally so they don’t stick.

5. Rest

   • Switch off the heat and let the meatballs sit in the sauce for 10–15 minutes before serving. This helps them firm up and the sauce thicken.

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To serve

• With pasta (spaghetti, rigatoni), mashed potatoes, or just with bread.

• Extra Parmesan on top.