MEATBALLS & SPAGHETTI SAUCE Banting

If you’re a Spag Bol fan and thought you wouldn’t be able to enjoy spaghetti ‘n sauce on a low-carb diet, then think again!

If you think about it, pasta really is only a vessel for the really good stuff – The meaty sauce. So let’s just ditch the carby crud and focus on the saucy star. Please excuse me while I channel my inner-Italian nonna through this recipe.

The key to all proper Italian cooking is using fresh ingredients. Here in the Southern hemisphere we are blessed with a similar climate to that of the Mediterranean. So there’s really no excuse for not growing your own herbs on a windowsill at least and even having a bash at some tomatoes in a pot outside.

So first up, this is the most critical part of the recipe, and vitally important for a successful outcome…

*Uhum… throat-clearing cough*…

“On top of spaghetti,

All covered with cheese,

I lost my poor meatball,

When somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table,

And on to the floor,

And then my poor meatball,

Rolled out of the door.

It rolled in the garden,

And under a bush,

And then my poor meatball,

Was nothing but mush.

The mush was as tasty

As tasty could be,

And then the next summer,

It grew into a tree.

The tree was all covered,

All covered with moss,

And on it grew meatballs,

And tomato sauce.

So if you eat spaghetti,

All covered with cheese,

Hold on to your meatball,

Whenever you sneeze.”

OK now that we have the important business out of the way we can crack on with the recipe.

Spaghetti Sauce & Meatballs

Serves 4

Carb status: GREEN

Ingredients:

Meatballs –

500g beef mince (NOT the nasty lean stuff)

3 pieces streaky bacon, cubed

1 egg, beaten

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 1/2 garlic cloves (reserve the other half a clove for the sauce)

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp Worcester sauce

1 Tbl olive oil

1 Tbl tomato paste

Spaghetti sauce –

4 fresh ripe tomatoes or 1 tin plum tomatoes

1/2 rib of celery

1/4 cup white wine

1 Tbl balsamic vinegar

1 Tbl olive oil

Handful fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, oregano)

1 tsp honey

2 roasted red peppers

Salt & black pepper to taste

Method:

Meatballs –

– Preheat oven to 180C.

– Beat the egg and finely chop the onion and bacon and add it to all the other meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

– Because this recipe doesn’t make use of breadcrumbs to bind the meatballs, it works best with dried herbs, as they bind everything that much better. But feel free to use fresh if you prefer.

– Using your lovely clean hands really get in there and squash and squelch everything together until it’s well combined. The dirtier you can get, the better. It’s like play dough, for grownups.

– Once well combined add the bowl with the meatball mixture into the freezer for only about 10 minutes while you get on with the sauce.

– Line a baking sheet with tin foil to prepare for the meatballs later.

Spaghetti Sauce –

– Meanwhile get on with the sauce as it will need some time to cook down to something luscious and saucy.

– My old spaghetti pasta pot had been sitting at the back of the cupboard collecting dust for ages feeling very rejected. But since I’ve started making this again, I’ve found a new use for it. As the sauce needs a low and slow heat to really get it cooking down, it does also tend to make a hell of a mess splattering about as it reduces. But since I’ve started reducing it in the old high-sided spaghetti pot, hey presto! No messy tomato splats all over my kitchen!

– The sauce is super simple. Just dump all the ingredients into a blender and whizz it up. It’s your choice if you like it a bit chunky or really smoooth. So blend for as long or as little until you get to your preferred consistency.

– I prefer to use fresh herbs for the sauce as they really give it that zingy earthy pop you get when you cook with fresh herbs. But please use whatever you can get hold of.

– Add the blended sauce into the big old pot and start it off at a medium to high heat just to get it going.

– Once it starts to bubble, then turn it right down and leave it. Stirring occasionally.

– Right, now back to the meatballs-

– Get the chilled meatball mixture out of the freezer, which should now be nice and chilled.

– Roll them by hand up into balls. I prefer bite-sized pieces, as they cook quicker and are easier to eat than the larger ones. But it’s up to you.

– Once rolled into balls, place them onto the foil-lined baking sheet.

– Slide the tray into the oven and bake for 30 – 40 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs.

– The sauce should take roughly 45 minutes to cook down and really become thick and saucy. Just keep stirring so nothing starts to stick, and turn the heat right down if it starts to burn towards the end.

Serve with courgette pasta a good grating of Parmesan and a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley and tuck in!

#banting #meatballs