Spaghetti & Meatballs

Or Scabetti & Meatballs as my 3 year old calls it! Few things are as crowd pleasing or easy to prepare than a steamy bowl of pasta and meatballs. These meatballs are not true Neapolitan style as I use less milk soaked bread (its a legacy from my Dr. Atkins days) but enough to transform them from 'burgers' to soft, true polpette. I've used angel hair here as its easy on my 9 month old but I'd have preferred thicker scabetti myself!

I don't always put serving sizes on my recipes because we all have different appetites in our family; mine being the largest, but count on 4 really good adult bowls with probable leftovers for meatball subs the next day.

Recipe Ingredients

1lb ground beef

1 tbs minced garlic

1 small grated onion

1 cup breadcrumbs soaked in milk

1 beaten egg

1 cup grated Parmesan

generous grinds of salt & black pepper

Marinara Sauce (either homemade or a jar of store bought)

Directions

1. Squeeze the milk from the breadcrumbs, place in a large mixing bowl and break up.


2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well (I use my hands).


3. Form the mixture in about 10-15 balls. I like them pretty small (less work to eat!)


4. Heat some olive oil (not extra virgin) in a large frying pan and add the meatballs one by one. As a brown crust forms on the bottom, turn them over (palette knife works best).


5. Once they are all sealed, add the jar of sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes.


6. Whilst they are simmering cook your noodles (directions on packet minus a minute or so)


7. Toss the whole lot into a serving dish, put on some Frank Sinatra and dive in.

Trust me tip: Once you get to the end of your loaf or English muffins, bagels etc., just put them through your food processor and blitz to breadcrumbs. Keep them in the freezer in a ziplock bag for meatloaf and meatball emergencies!