Spaghetti with veal meatballs
Quality British veal is delicious, affordable and has higher welfare standards than decades past. These veal meatballs are a great way to try it, but you can substitute it with pork or beef mince, if you prefer.
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 red chilli
- 800g/1lb 12oz baby plum tomatoes
- 1 rosemary sprig
- olive oil, for drizzling
- 200g/7oz passata
- 1 bunch basil, shredded
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the meatballs
- 250g/9oz veal mince
- 100g/3½oz freshly grated Parmesan
- 250g/9oz ricotta
- 1 free-range egg
- olive oil, for frying
For the spaghetti
- 400g/14oz dried spaghetti
To serve
- 50g/1¾oz freshly grated Parmesan
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
To make the tomato sauce, toss all the ingredients, apart from the passata and basil, together in a roasting tin, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with some olive oil. Roast for 20–30 minutes, or until soft and blistered.
Transfer to a mouli and mince into a pan. (Alternatively, blitz in a food processor or blender and pass through a sieve into the pan.) Add some passata if it’s a little thick, bring to a simmer, then stir though the basil.
To make the meatballs, mix the veal, Parmesan, ricotta and egg together. Season and roll into balls.
Heat some olive in a frying pan and brown all over. Transfer to the sauce and cook for 8–10 minutes, or until cooked though.
Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Drain, then toss with the meatballs. Serve in bowls sprinkled with the Parmesan.
