Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe

Hi Steemians,

Hope you had a great weekend! I'm starting my first post of the week with a recipe I recently made - twice in a week, as my kids really enjoyed it.

Whenever I'm pressed for time on the weekend from being out for most of the day, Spaghetti Bolognese is usually my go-to meal, as it's quick and tasty and contains all your carbs, protein and vegetables all in one dish. We always add another side of vegetables and maybe one other side dish to make it a full and complete meal.

Two weekends ago, with a bit of extra time on my hands, I mixed things up a bit and made meatballs rather than the usual meat sauce. And it was a total hit with the family as it'd been a while since we'd had pasta with meatballs.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Ingredients (Serves 4)
Meatballs:
500g beef mince
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg
Salt & black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 x 410g can crushed tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
400g dried spaghetti
1/4 cup fresh continental parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, freshly shredded
Salt & black pepper

Method

1. To make your meatballs, first line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, combine the beef mince, onion, breadcrumbs, garlic, egg, salt and pepper. Using your hands, combine the mixture and roll heaped tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on the tray. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
   
2. Heat half of the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook, turning, until golden brown and cooked through. Set aside. Repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs.
3. To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until just softened. Add garlic and saute until aromatic.
4. Add the canned tomato, stock and tomato paste. Increase heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and add the meatballs. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce is reduced and the meatballs are re-heated.
   
5. While the meatballs are simmering, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain well then return to the pot.
6. Stir in the parsley and basil to the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Divide the spaghetti into serving bowls, top with meatballs, and serve immediately.

Notes:

• In this particular batch, I added a medium zucchini into the sauce at step 4, as an extra serving of vegetables, but found it made the sauce a bit too thick, so will use a smaller sized zucchini or completely omit in the future.
• Recipe adapted from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/spaghetti-meatballs-tomato-sauce/7df48ce3-cdf4-4dc0-96cc-9f5338f51201

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this recipe.