SAUCY MEATBALL PASTA – ITALIAN SOUTH AFRICAN RECIPE
Miranda | My Anosmic Kitchen
This saucy meatball pasta is my version of an Italian South African recipe. An inexpensive dish made with love and care, are those not the recipes that you remember forever?
Combine all the meatball ingredients into a bowl except oil for frying.Do not use the crusts of the bread only the inside. Grate rather than chop the onion. Using your hands mix the ingredients and roll into balls. (see Recipe Notes)Leave the meatballs to set in the fridge for 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the meatballs till golden brown (not cooked) and set aside.
SAUCE
Same skillet heat the oil (oil for frying meatballs) and cook the onions and garlic till translucent. (Glossy see through color)
Pour in the stock and let it cook on medium heat for roughly 5 minutes. Just so the onions and garlic can blend in with the stock but still leaving liquid in the pan.
Pour in the canned tomatoes one can at a time and let it cook for 10 minutes on medium heat with the dried basil and salt (See recipe notes)
Return the meatballs and add the passata & water. Taste and season accordingly. Cook for a further 10 minutes on low heat to simmer until it reaches a saucy tomato sauce by which time the meatballs will be cooked.
In a separate pot cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Drain reserving a cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta into the sauce and meatballs in the last 5 minutes of the sauce cooking time. If it needs any more liquid use the reserved pasta water. Once off the heat, add the grated white cheddar cheese and flat Italian parsley and place the lid on the pot. The heat from the food and pot will melt the cheese and slightly wilt the parsley.