Light and soft large meatballs slowly simmered in a rich tomato sauce: absolutely classic, absolutely delicious and absolutely, hands down, the easiest and best recipe I have made for this dish. Serves 6 - 8
Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
First you need to make the tomato sauce: heat the oil with the basil, garlic cloves and chilli flakes over a very low heat for 10 – 15 minutes. This allows all the flavours to infuse and develop. Be careful the garlic doesn’t burn or get too brown.
Meanwhile, pour all the passata/crushed tomatoes into a large cast-iron casserole or saucepan. Swill out the passata cartons/tins with the water and add to the pan.
Add the salt, pepper, tomato puree and, when ready, strain the oil mix and add the infused oil.
Stir well to mix and bring to a simmer.
Remove 125ml/½ cup of the tomato sauce and set aside to cool and use when making the meatballs.
Partially cover the tomato sauce with a lid and cook for 1 hour, stirring from time to time.
After 1 hour, taste the sauce to see if it needs any sugar to sweeten it slightly. This will depend on the tomatoes you use. I normally add 1 teaspoon.
Also check to see if it needs any extra salt, pepper and/or chilli flakes. If so, add them now.
Make the meatballs whilst the tomato sauce is cooking: place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. The easiest way is to use your hands.
Now form the meatballs – I use a large ice cream scoop around ¼ cup/60ml in size. If making this size, you should have around 14 meatballs. You could make them smaller, if you prefer.
The meatballs will be very soft and delicate. Use your hands to carefully roll them into neater shapes.
Slowly and carefully lower the meatballs into the sauce. If they do not all sink into the sauce, gently shimmy the pan so they distribute evenly. Do not be tempted to stir the pot, or the meatballs may break apart.
Bring the sauce back to a gentle simmer and cook, partially covered for a minimum of 45 minutes, but ideally up to 2 hours. The longer the better, deeper flavour.
Serve: serve with your favourite pasta, some shredded basil and some pecorino Romano on the side.
Equipment:
Chilli Flakes:
The chilli flakes I use are quite fiery and I find ½ teaspoon is a good heat for us. The original recipe recommends 2 teaspoons. If you are adding chilli flakes start with ¼ - ½ teaspoon and add more to suit your taste.