Aromatic meatballs in tomato sauce with peas

A few weeks ago I went to dinner at a  friends house.  She is also a foodie, and had wanted to make this particular recipe for dinner.  There was a lot going on, so I landed up making the meatballs.  On the night we doubled the quantities, and substituted some of the spices, added others and generally had a lot of fun in a collaborative cooking effort. There was a lot of wine.

The results were fantastic so thought I’d like to share with you.

I know meatballs are pretty everyday and ordinary.  Italian meatballs in tomato sauce with spaghetti has to be one of my favourite comfort meals.

These meatballs are a little bit different, and I just loved the cinnamon, cumin and coriander flavours.  So warm and comforting.  Your home will smell fantastic while you cook. There is a lot of garlic and I love the way the sweetness of the peas explode in your mouth adding a whole new texture and taste dimension.

The tomato sauce is not that spicy, so next time I would add at least 1/2 teaspoon on chilli.

This recipe will serve 4-6 people, depending on how big the eaters.

what you need for the meatballs:

• 350 – 450gms mince (the original recipe is for half pork and half veal mince)
• 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I left this out)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp olive oil to fry

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 125ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
• 400gm – 425g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 125ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 80 – 125g frozen peas

How to make:

sauce:

• Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion until soft
• add the garlic and cook for a minute
• increase the heat and and add the wine and allow to boil for about a minute
• add all the rest of the ingredients and allow to gently simmer
• while its simmering make the meatballs

meatballs:

• Mix all the meatball ingredients in a bowl by hand
• Roll about a tablespoon into balls or bigger if you prefer
• heat the oil in a frying pan and then gently fry the balls, turning frequently until brown
• drain on kitchen paper
• add the meatballs (they can be uncooked all the way through) to the tomato sauce and cook for about 5 minutes
• Add the peas about 5 minutes before serving

Serve with pasta or crusty Italian bread

Unless I’m testing, I never follow a recipe when I make a tomato sauce. I just add what I’m in the mood for and adjust the seasoning as I go.  The same should apply with this sauce.  I think a bit of chilli or smoked chilli would be very nice here and would compliment the very aromatic meatballs.  It’s got a slight North African vibe to it.

I would also use pork mince next time instead of beef, I never eat veal.

I am not sure if these turned out as well as Laeni and my joint effort, but pretty tasty nevertheless.

Born up a tree!