Spaghetti Meatballs

Directions

• Meatball Preparation
• Place the mince, eggs, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan, 20g tomato paste, basil and salt & pepper into a large bowl. Mix well until well combined. At first a spoon may work but I find using your hands combines the ingredients better.
• With a tablespoon, take out dollops of mixture and roll it with your hands into balls (should make 20 or so balls the size of a golf ball). Place on a plate and into the fridge for 10-15mins to allow to set.
• Preparing Tomato Sauce
• In the meantime, heat a deep pan on medium with 1 tbsp of oil.
• Add in onion and garlic and cook until fragrant and translucent.
• Add in mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, carrot, zucchini, mixed herbs and salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant and slightly soft.
• Add in wine and allow to simmer until it reduces (should become thicker and not as much liquid).
• Add in tinned tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to boil and then allow to simmer. Don’t forget to stir occasionally.Depending on personal preference, after about 5 minutes of cooking, I usually place the sauce into a blender and blitz the sauce until it is smooth. Place back into the pan where it was cooking. CAUTION: If your blender does not have a hot temperature mode, do not put the hot sauce in the blender. This will possibly cause it to explode which could be quite dangerous.
• While sauce cooks, heat 1 tbsp oil in pan on medium, place half of the meatballs into the pan and brown on the sides. Once, browned place on a clean plate. Best results are when you don’t cook the meatballs through but just slightly brown on the outside.
• Once all of the meatballs are cooked, place into the pan with the tomato sauce, allowing them to be covered with the sauce.
• Add in the sliced olives.Allow to cook for a further 10-15 minutes or until the meatballs are completely cooked through (no longer pink in the middle).
• While the meatballs are simmering, cook your favourite pasta (spaghetti is the best) according the instructions on the packet.
• Once everything is completed, serve with favourite pasta and a sprinkle of parmesan. Enjoy!