Meatballs with spaghetti

Tender and delicious family classic

image

Serves

4

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

An hour seems a long time to cook meatballs, but it's well worth the wait with the enhancement of flavour and tenderness.

Print
Share
Save recipe

Ingredients

Beef
  • 500g Quality Mark beef mince

  • 1/2 cup parsley

    finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbsi

  • 1 egg

  • 2 Tbsp milk

  • 1 tsp dried oregano

Spaghetti sauce
  • 1 onion

    finely sliced
  • 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes in juice

  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar

  • 1 tsp (optional) brown sugar

  • 400g spaghetti pasta

To serve
  • 2 courgettes

    trimmed, peeled into ribbons and blanched
  • 120g bag baby spinach

  • grated colby cheese

Method

To Make Beef
1

Place the beef mince, parsley, breadcrumbs, egg, milk and oregano in a large bowl.

2

Season and mix well using clean hands.

3

Divide mince mixture into 16 meatballs, rolling them gently.

4

Place on a large plate then cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

To Make Sauce
1

Heat a dash of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.

2

Remove meatballs from the refrigerator and place in the frying pan.

3

Cook until browned, then transfer to a plate.

4

Lower heat, add the onion and cook until soft.

5

Add the tomatoes, red wine vinegar and sugar if using.

6

Return meatballs to the frying pan, cover and cook over a low heat for 1 hour.

7

Check from time to time to check they are not sticking to the bottom.

8

Just before the meatballs are cooked, place a large saucepan of lightly salted water on to boil.

9

Add the spaghetti and cook for 8 minutes.

10

Drain spaghetti reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.

11

Add cooking water to the meatballs to loosen the sauce.

To Serve
1

Gently toss together the meatballs, sauce, spaghetti and green vegetables and place in a large warmed serving bowl. Sprinkle with your favourite grated cheese.

Nutrition Information per Serving (595g)

This nutrition analysis is based on 4 serves and doesn't include the grated cheese.

Energy2531kJ (605 kcal)
Protein47.7g
Total Fat8.9g
Saturated Fat3.4g
Carbohydrate76.8g
Dietary Fibre10.8g
Sodium160mg
Iron7.6mg
Zinc8.0mg
Vitamin B121.2µg