Pork & Veal Meatballs In A Spicy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 250g pork mince
• 250g veal mince (you can purchase this from larger branches of major supermarkets)
• 1 slice white bread (torn into bits and soaked in 5 tbsp of milk)
• 1 small onion - finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
• Zest of a lemon
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 carton of passata
• 4 - 5 anchovy fillets
• 1 medium onion - chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic - chopped
• 1 small glass of white wine
• 1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes (to taste)
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. To make the meatballs - With (clean!) hands, mix all the meatball ingredients together until smooth. Fry a bit of mixture in a frying pan to taste and add more seasoning if required.
2. Once it tastes good, scoop out the mixture with a tablespoon and roll it into balls. Damp - or lightly floured - hands are best for this as it means the mixture won’t stick to your fingers. When done, pop the meatballs into the fridge to rest for an hour or so.
3. When you’re ready to cook the meatballs, add a teaspoon of olive oil to your skillet and cook them in batches of 6. When they’re browned on all sides, cover them and put them to one side while you prepare the sauce
4. To make the sauce - in a large saucepan, fry the chopped onions in a tablespoon of olive oil until they turn soft and translucent. This should take around 10 - 12 minutes.
5. Add the anchovies and mash them with a wooden spoon until they melt into the oil. They’re quite soft, so this shouldn’t take too long. Then, add the chopped garlic and fry for a minute until it smells delicious. (Keep an eye on it, as you don’t want it to burn.).
6. Add the wine, chopped tomatoes, passata, chilli flakes and bay leaves to the saucepan. Turn to a very low heat, cover with a lid and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Taste it occasionally and add extra salt, pepper and chilli if required.
7. Ten minutes before you’re ready to serve, pop the meatballs into the sauce and let them simmer gently, so that they can soak up all of those delicious flavours.
8. Serve the meatballs immediately, topped with plenty of parmesan cheese. These go perfectly with spaghetti, or you can serve them in a big fluffy baguette.