Meatballs

Teen food at it's best and even better when they help you cook. Good quality mince is key here to bring out the best in this dish. Marry that with a gutsy, rich tomato sauce and you really cannot go wrong. Perfect weekend food, this serves 6 and I guarantee you there will be no leftovers. Enjoy.... 

Ingredients
FOR THE MEATBALLS
250g minced pork
250g minced beef
1 large egg
2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
good grinding black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
700g tomato passata or chopped tomatoes whizzed to a puree
1 pinch of sugar
salt
pepper
100 ml full fat milk

METHOD

For the meatballs:

1. Just put everything in a large bowl and then, using your hands, mix to combine before shaping into small balls.
2. Place the meatballs on baking sheets or plates that you have lined with clingfilm, and put each in the fridge as you finish them.

For the tomato sauce:

1. Chop onion and garlic until almost a pulp add oregano. 
2. Heat the butter and oil in a deep, wide pan, then scrape the onion-garlic mix into it and cook over low to medium heat for about 10 minutes. Don’t let the mixture catch, just let it become soft.
3. Add the tomato passata and then half-fill the empty bottle with cold water (approx. 300-350ml water). Add this to the pan with the pinch of sugar and some salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes. The tomato sauce will appear thin at this stage, but don’t worry as it will thicken a little later.
4. Stir in the milk, and then drop the meatballs in one by one. Don’t stir the pan until the meatballs have turned from pink to brown as you don’t want to break them up.
5. Cook everything for about 20 minutes, with the lid only partially covering it. At the end of cooking time, check the seasoning, as you may want more salt and a grind or two more of pepper.

I like to serve with tagliatelle.