Brown the meatballs first, then let them finish cooking in the passata so the sauce takes up their flavour.
From the shop
Start with 500 g of Italian meatballs. For a quick swap, squeeze 450 g of Italian sausages out of their casings and roll the meat into small balls.
Brown the meatballs before the sauce goes in. The browned outside holds them together while they simmer and gives the sauce more flavour.
Ingredients
- 500 g Italian meatballs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 700 ml tomato passata
- 400 g spaghetti or penne
- A handful of basil leaves
- Grated parmesan, to serve
- Salt and cracked black pepper
Buy the cuts for this recipe
Italian Meatballs$24.99per kilogram
Italian Sausages$24.99per kilogram
Method
- Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan over medium high heat. Add the meatballs.
- Cook the meatballs for 7 minutes. Turn them often until they are brown on all sides.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the passata. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a simmer, about 2 minutes.
- Cover the pan. Simmer gently for 15 minutes and turn the meatballs once. Cook until the centre of a meatball reads 75°C.
- While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until just tender. Drain it.
- Tear the basil over the sauce.
Serve it
Spoon the meatballs and sauce over the pasta. Finish with grated parmesan, or serve with crusty bread for the sauce.