- 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 12 cream or plain crackers such as Jacob’s
- 2 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 pound good quality ground beef, pork or a mixture of the two
- 1 heaped tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 large egg, preferably free range or organic
- Sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil
- A small bunch of fresh basil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ½ a fresh or dried red chile
- 2 x 14-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 pound dried spaghetti or penne
- Parmesan cheese for grating
- To make your meatballs:
- To make your meatballs:
- Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalks and finely chop them. Wrap the crackers in a kitchen town and smash up until fine, breaking up any big bits with your hands. Add to the bowl with mustard, ground meat, chopped rosemary and oregano. Crack in the egg and add a good pnch of salt and pepper. With clean hands, scrunch and mix up well. Divide into 4 large balls. With wet hands, divide each ball into 6 and roll into little meatballs—you should end up with 24. Drizzle them with olive oil and jiggle them about so they all get coated. Put them on a plate, cover and place in the refrigerator until needed. To cook your pasta, meatballs, and sauce :
- To cook your pasta, meatballs, and sauce :
- Pick the basil leaves, keeping any smaller ones to one side for later. Peel and finely chop the onin and the garlic. Finely slice the chile. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Next, heat a large fryng pan on a medium heat and add 2 lugs of olive oil. Add your onion to the frying pan and stir around for 7 minutes or until softened and lightly golden. Then add your garlic and chile, and as soon as they start to get some color add the large basil leaves. Add the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Bring to the boil and season to taste. Meanwhile, heat another large frying pan and add a lug of oliv oil and your meatballs. Stir them around and cook for 8 -10 minutes until golden (check they’re cooked by opening one up. There should be no sign of pink. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until the pasta is ready, then remove from the heat. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions.