Ultimate meatballs & sauce / Meatballs & Pasta al forno
In this post, you lucky people are getting two recipes in one. Besides telling you about my ultimate meatballs and sauce for pasta, I’m also going to show you how to turn them into a fabulous pasta bake with a cheesy topping.
MEATBALLS? YES PLEASE
I love meatballs. I include in the definition of meatball all the great variety of dishes based on meat which has been minced, seasoned and shaped. Turkish kofta, Pakistani seekh kebab, Spanish albondigas, Swedish meatballs, British faggots and, of course, burgers from just about everywhere.
But I guess the meatballs that first come to mind in Britain are Italian meatballs, polpette, in a tomato sauce, served with long pasta such as spaghetti.
Being an Italian-American invention, meatballs and pasta is an unknown dish in Italy. But, inauthentic as it may be, I think my version is pretty darned good. Even better, you’re getting two recipes here, so read on.
TWO RECIPES IN ONE
I think a meaty pasta sauce containing meatballs is so much more satisfying in texture and flavour than one made with just minced beef. And my meatballs really are the ultimate: pork and veal mince flavoured with fennel seed, sage, lemon and Parmesan.
The rich sauce is pretty special too. Made with a base of onions, celery, carrot garlic, fennel and tomatoes, the smoky pancetta, wine and beef stock give it so much more depth of flavour than your average tomato sauce.
The meatballs and sauce can be served just as they are, stirred through long pasta (spaghetti, linguine, tagliatelle or pappardelle) and with grated Parmesan on top.
But to take them up a further notch, I like to bake them in the oven (which is what the al forno in the title means) with fat tubes of tortiglioni or rigatoni pasta, complete with a cheesy sauce.
A wonderfully rich dish, I think meatballs and pasta al forno is perfect for entertaining. Besides the fantastic flavours, it’s very practical for the cook who also wants to spend time with their guests as all the work can be done in advance. The assembled dish can be left in the fridge and just put in the oven 30-40 minutes before you want to eat it.
While neither the meatballs and sauce nor the baked pasta dish are exactly quick to make, you’re certainly rewarded for your efforts.
The meatballs in their vegetable, tomato and pancetta sauce are great for batch cooking as they freeze really well, giving you a rich, complexly flavoured meal stored away for when you have less time to cook.
Ultimate Meatballs: Pork, Veal & Fennel Meatballs in Tomato, Vegetable & Pancetta Sauce / Meatballs & Pasta al forno
This recipe will make enough Meatballs in Tomato, Vegetable & Pancetta sauce for approximately 6 people. If you're going to make the Meatballs & Pasta al forno, then you'll need only one-third of the meatballs in sauce mixture and this will serve approximately 3-4 people.
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 450 g pork mince
- 450 g veal mince
- 1 lemon, zest only finely grated
- 20 leaves sage shredded
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 tsp fennel seeds coarsley ground
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the tomato, vegetable & pancetta sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 25 g butter
- 150 g smoked pancetta or streaky bacon diced small
- 250 g onions diced small
- 200 g carrots diced small
- 1 small bulb fennel diced small
- 2 sticks celery diced small
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 300 ml red wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp chilli flakes optional
- 400 g tinned, chopped tomatoes
- 400 ml beef stock
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1-2 tsp sugar optional
- 2 handfuls fresh basil leaves roughly torn
For the Meatballs & Pasta al forno:
- 50 g butter
- 50 g plain white flour
- 500 ml milk
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 75 g mature Cheddar cheese grated
- 35 g Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 300 g dried tortiglioni or rigatoni pasta
Instructions
For the meatballs:
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Using your hands, thoroughly mix together all of the ingredients for the meatballs, except the olive oil.
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Take a small piece of the mixture, form into a ball and fry in 1tsp of the olive oil until brown and thoroughly cooked through. Allow to cool a little, then taste. If the mixture needs it, add more seasoning, sage, lemon or Parmesan.
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When the mixture is to your liking, form it into walnut-sized balls by rolling between your palms.
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Thoroughly brown the meatballs in the remaining olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, a few at a time, and set aside on a plate in the fridge.
For the tomato, vegetable & pancetta sauce:
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In a large pan, heat the oil and butter over a moderate heat, then add the pancetta or streaky bacon. Saute, stirring, until it starts to brown (5-8 min).
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Stir in the onion, carrot, fennel, celery and garlic, season with salt & pepper and continue cooking until the vegetable are starting to soften and taking on a little colour (20-25 min).
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Stir in the wine, turn the heat up and boil fiercely until the wine has almost evaporated (5-8 min).
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Stir in the bay leaves, oregano & chilli flakes if using.
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Stir the tomatoes, beef stock, balsamic vinegar and a little more salt & pepper.
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Put the lid on the pan, bring the contents to a boil then turn the heat to low-moderate to get a gentle simmer. Simmer until reduced by about a third (15-20 min). Check the seasoning & add sugar if you think it needs it.
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Add the reserved, browned meatballs to the pan, stir, put the lid back on and bring to a simmer again. Simmer until the sauce is thick and the meatball cooked through (20-25 min).
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Check the seasoning again, stir in the torn basil leaves.
Serve with cooked pasta or continue recipe for Meatball Pasta Al Forno.
For the Meatballs & Pasta al forno:
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Pre-heat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4
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Butter an ovenproof dish approximately 26 x 18 x 7 cm. Set aside.
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In a saucepan, ideally non-stick, melt the butter over low-medium heat then add the flour, using a small whisk to incorporate it into the melted butter. Cook for 2 min, whisking all the time.
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Take the pan off the heat, pour 100 ml of the milk and whisky well to mix in, making sure there's no lumps.
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Put the pan back on the heat and, whisking continually, a little at a time gradually add all of the remaining milk, making sure there's no lumps before each addition.
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When all the milk has been added and the sauce is smooth, season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaf.
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Turn up the heat and, stirring with a rubber or plastic spatula as the sauce thickens, bring it up to a boil then immediately turn the heat to low.
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Let the sauce gently bubble, stirring often and making sure it isn't sticking to the bottom or sides of the saucepan until it no longer tastes of raw flour (5-8 min).
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Take the saucepan off the heat, take out and discard the bay leaf.
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Stir in half the Cheddar & Parmesan cheeses until melted. Set pan aside.
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Mix the dried oregano with the remaining cheese, add a little black pepper and set aside.
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Boil the pasta in salted water in a large saucepan until cooked but still a little firm. Drain and return the pasta to the saucepan.
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Stir approximately one-third of the meatball & sauce mixture into the pasta, along with roughly 150ml of the cheese sauce. Mix together well.
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Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and level off the top.
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Pour or spoon over the rest of the cheese sauce (heating it a little first will help if it's gone too firm as it cools), so that it covers the pasta and meatballs.
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Sprinkle the reserved cheeses and oregano over the top.
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Bake in the pre-heated oven until bubbling and thoroughly hot all the way through and the top is golden (30-40 min). Turn the oven down a little if the top is browning too much before the middle of the bake is hot.
This looks fantastic and it tastes great.
I think the meatballs, sauce & pasta on their own are great, but just that little extra effort of making the cheese sauce and baking the whole thing really makes it into something special. Everyone I’ve served it to really likes it.