Looking for the perfect meatball recipe with a quick and tasty sauce to go with it then look no further, super easy, super tasty and it can be served a variety of ways, over the top of some lovely pasta or as my niece and nephew like, served in a sub with lashings of the marinara sauce and plenty of melted mozzarella!
Prep time 20mins
Cooking time around 30mins
150ml milk
100g of breadcrumbs
500g pork mince
500g beef mince
2tsp dried oregano
1tsp dried parsley
2tsp dried basil
1 fat garlic clove crushed
1.5tsp each of salt and pepper (less according to taste)
1 onion diced
2 garlic cloves crushed
Bunch of fresh basil, chopped
1 tin of peeled plum tomatoes 400g
1 tbsp of tomato puree
Pinch of sugar
2 tsp dried oregano
300ml beef stock
2tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (roughly 1tsp but add according to taste)
To make the meatballs, soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 5 mins, remove and squeeze out any excess liquid.
Add all of the ingredients including the breadcrumbs into a large bowl and mix using hands, depending on how big you want the meatballs, grab golfball sized amount of the mixture and form into your meatballs, set aside, the mixture should make 12-15
Add 2 tbsp of olive oil into a saucepan on a medium heat, add the meatballs in batches and brown off, set aside.
Using the same pan, add a splash of your stock to deglaze the pan and loosen all the gnarly bits of meatball mixture, add onions and gently cook until soft (about 5 mins)
Add crushed garlic and cook for another min, add splash of water if the onions or garlic begin to colour
Now add oregano and salt and pepper, cook for a minute
Add tomato puree cook off for 30 seconds, then add tinned tomatoes, half the fresh basil, beef stock and the pinch of sugar, turn heat up to high and allow to reduce by 1 third.
Once reduced turn the heat down to medium, have a taste and add a touch more seasoning if need be. This next step is entirely up to you but I like to blend the sauce so that it's smooth, so I carefully use a stick blender to do this, but be careful as it may splash and the sauce will be hot. You can always take it off the heat and wait for the sauce to cool a bit before you do this to be on the safe side... but you prefer your sauce chunky or just can't be bothered then leave as it is.
Return the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs are cooked through, it should take around about 15 mins, but cut a meatball open before you serve just to check.
Serve on top of cooked linguine, sprinkle with finely sliced basil and some parmesan cheese... alternatively you can serve in a sub bun with lashing of sauce for a finger licking sandwich.
Add 1tsp of dried chilli flakes to the sauce at the same time as the oregano, salt and pepper for a kick of heat!
