Ingredients
For the pasta sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 small onions
- 75g olive oil (or just veg oil)
- 1 bay leaf (don't worry if you don’t have one)
- 4 tins tomatoes (whole peeled plum is best but any will do)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 5 teaspoons sugar
For the meatballs
- 2 small onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 40g veg oil / cooking oil
- 50g mixed fresh herbs ( your choice I like taragon, marjoram, thyme snd parsley but whatever is to hand )
- 200g minced beef
- 200g minced pork
- 200g minced lamb
- 200g breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
Method
For the sauce
- Peel and slice the onion & garlic cook in a big pot with the oil on a medium low heat. This means it shouldn't colour you just want the onions and garlic to soften and go translucent.
- Now add the bay leaf and tinned tomatoes , simmer really gently for 2 hours ( real gently means just a few bubbles now and then )season with the sugar and salt
For the meatballs
- Finley dice your onions & garlic, cook in a pot with the oil, medium heat no colour just translucent as before, add this to a good sized bowl or pot now add the herbs chopped a bit preferably.
- Add the minces and the breadcrumbs( it seems like a lot of breadcrumbs but it’s all good) add salt, mix this together then ball into golf ball size or however you like your balls.
- Dredge them with a little flour if you have it
- Fry them in a frying pan in batches just to colour the outside good and hot and don’t overcrowd the pan, then pop them straight into your big pot of lightly bubbling tomato sauce cook out nice and gentle like you did before for at least an hour.
- Serve up with pasta or rice, or my favourite - polenta!
