Meatballs with spaghetti & Napolitana sauce recipe

For some strange reason, I’m often not overly keen on events that involve me cooking. I spend so much of my time doing that, I don’t always feel like it when I’m going out. In the end though, I generally always have the most fun at these. And fun it what I had a few weeks ago at the Fairlady magazine readers event. It was a pasta-making workshop held at Jenny Morris’s Cook’s Playground in de Waterkant. The event coincided with the pasta recipe booklet that was included in the May edition of the magazine. Justine Kiggen – the food editor- did a demo on how to make pasta, and then set us off to make 4 different pasta dishes with sauce.

The recipes were simple and tasty, but these meatballs stood out as being the best recipe of the night. They were juicy and soft and will be my go-to recipe from now on. I added a little extra chilli because I like to feel the heat.

I like to make my meatballs a bit smaller so they cook quicker, and are generally a bit easier to eat. I also like more surface area of meat to undergo caramelisation, but it really is up to you.

Recipe | serves 4

Ingredients

Sauce:

2 x 400g tin tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock prepared
2 T tomato paste
1 t paprika
1/2 - 1 t dried chilli flakes or 2 pinches
2 t brown sugar
salt and pepper

Meatballs:

2 garlic cloves crushed
500 g beef mince
60 g dried bread crumbs
10 g parsley finely chopped
2 t dried oregano
salt & pepper
2 T tomato paste
1-2 T olive oil
300 g spaghetti or any long pasta of your choice
Parmesan cheese for serving freshly grated

Instructions

Put all the sauce ingredients together in a small pot on the stove and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and starts to thicken.
While that is on the go, mix all the meatball ingredients (mince, garlic, breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper and tomato paste) together, and roll into small to medium-sized meatballs.
Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the meatballs until they turn brown on all sides. Remove and drain on paper towel.
Add the browned meatballs to the Napolitana sauce and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and cook your pasta to al dente.
Toss some of the sauce through the pasta, portion it out and then top with meatballs and more sauce.
Serve with loads of freshly grated Parmesan.

Author: Sam Linsell

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20 Comments

Hi Sam, your blog is just beautiful. Each time I read a post, I think that it contains your best pictures yet, and that you can’t possibly get any better. And then you do. Every post. It really is a joy to look at your photographs 🙂

Thanks Angela, that is very kind of you to say. I really want to improve as a photographer and work quite hard at creating new effects with lighting etc.

This looks awesome!

I love the lighting in these photos! Your pasta with meatballs looks like the ultimate comfort food.

Hi Sam, your photographs are amazing! You have the same style as Katie Quinn Davies. I want to buy your book but it’s not available in NZ bookstores or online bookstores that deliver to NZ with minimum cost. It’s in my watchlist! I have roasted tomatoes that I will use with your meatballs recipe. Yum!

Cant wait to try this meatball recipe…I hate dry meatballs!!!
It looks so yummy

Gemma, you will not be disappointed. Make sure you don’t overcook them in the sauce.

Hi Dolly, thank you for the very kind words and very high praise indeed. My book is not available in NZ, but can be ordered via Kalahari.net.
Roasted tomatoes will be lovely in this sauce.
Best
Sam

Thanks Laura, we have been having the most awful storms in Cape Town over the last week, so this dark and moody reflects how I fee right now, and the type of food I am eating.

Made the Meatballs on Monday and it was absolutely delish!! And leftovers even better the next day.

Stunning Mareli, they are so divine.

Another blast from the past for me! Fair Lady still going strong. When I lived in SA in the ’70’s I bought the Fair Lady Cookbook and still have it. Just been looking at it and it does seem tame compared to where cooking has got to today!

Those meatballs look great!

Cheers!
Liz