Meatballs. Yes. My kids love 'em. I know that's probably not surprising to most people, but to me it is. You see my kids are meat haters. So I was pleasantly surprised when they devoured these!
- 1lb ground beef
- 2 or 3 sausages - I used some Hungarian ones
- half an onion
- garlic
- parsley (optional. I opted out because the green in the balls would have put off my kids)
- wine
- a can of San Marzano tomatoes
- fresh basil
chop your onion really finely and crush or microplane a couple of cloves of garlic. Plonk the beef and peel the membrane off the sausages and add the sausage meat to the bowl. Using your hands, mix this up well, adding a bit of salt and pepper. Remember that the sausage was already seasoned so go with a light hand. Add your parsley if you're using it.
Now heat a dutch oven or saucepan and add some olive oil. Roll up your balls (wet hands makes this easier) and put them in the pot. When they are browned, turn them gently, trying not to let them break up. Turn a couple more times until they are evenly browned all over.
Take your wine and slosh in a good 1/2-1 cup, depending on your mood. use a wooden spoon to scrape those yummy browned bits up. Put your tomatoes in, crushing them with your fingers as they go into the pan (I put each one into my hand and crush it as I pour them in). Let this simmer for about 5 mins and then taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper. If you didn't use San Marzanos you'll probably want to add a pinch of sugar to cut the acidity. Roll up the basil leaves and slice finely. Mix through the sauce.
What I like to do with all my pasta sauces is to only mix half through the actual pasta and then serve the rest on top of each serving. This ensures that there is ample coverage but gives you a bit of control of the "good bits" on each plate.
