Serves 6

A plate of comfort! This is a family crowd pleaser. Using a combination of the fatty sausage meat and lean beef mince creates a great tasting meatball. 

The fennel and chilli flakes are optional but do make a great tasting sauce, but leave one or both out if you like.

Ingredients: 

The meatballs:

300g lean beef mince

340g herby pork stuffing mix/sausage meat (ensure this is without gluten if you are making it gluten free)

The sauce:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 red onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red pepper, diced

4 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1 litre passatta 

2 tsp balsamic vinegar 

Salt and pepper to taste 

To serve: 500g Pasta (gluten free if necessary) and parmesan

Step 1: Start by making your meatballs by combining the 2 meats in a bowl and mixing well (although messy you’ll get the best results by using your hands, which are going to get messy in the next step anyway!) 

Step 2: Roll small amounts of the mixture between your two hands to make balls (the mix will make about 35 small balls although you can make them bigger if you wish).

Step 3: Place the balls on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven at 200c for 25 minutes (bear in mind if you make bigger balls they’ll take longer).

Step 4: Whilst the meatballs are cooking, make your sauce. On a medium heat, add your oil to a pan and your red onion, garlic and red pepper. Soften for 3-4 minutes, stirring every so often, to make sure the garlic and onion do not burn.  Add your fennel seeds and chilli flakes (if using) and stir for a minute or two, before adding your passatta and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste. Cook the sauce on a low heat for 10-15 minutes.  Whilst this is simmering cook your pasta according to the packet instructions.

Step 5: Remove your meatballs from the oven and add to your sauce.  

Step 6: When you are ready to serve, add cooked pasta to the sauce and coat evenly. Use some of the pasta cooking water to loosen if necessary. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.