Baked meatballs & spaghetti

I cant remember where I read this tip, but somewhere out on the interwebz someone said oven baked meatballs were nicer than pan-fried. Last night, I decided to test this theory, and 5 out of 5 of us agreed it was true. They kept their wonderfully meaty taste and were still juicy. I make my meatballs from both pork & beef mince (usually half and half). The sauce I used is just my basic pasta sauce that I make for quick meals. I really dislike buying jars of sauce when it is just as easy & usually tastier to amke your own. It can be made in a huge batch & frozen, so that you always have some on stand-by. I sometimes make a "grown-up" batch that includes red wine, but as this was for all of us I just used the basic version. There were 5 licked-clean bowls after dinner last night!


Meatballs - I dont use a binder or anything in my meatballs, as they are oven baked they dont fall apart as easily as those that are fried/moved about a lot. So it's just 200g beef mince, 200g pork mince, salt & pepper. Combine and divide into small meatballs (I usually make 25 small ones, so 5 each). Put into a casserole dish and put into the oven at 200C for about 10 minutes, while you make the sauce.

Sauce -

1 onion diced
5 mushrooms, diced
2 garlic loves, crushed
a little olive oil
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon caster sugar

Fry the onion & garlic in a little oil until softened (about 5 minutes). Add teh mushrooms and fry for another few minutes. Add the tomatoes & sugar, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour overthe meatballs & return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve on top of cooked spaghetti and top with parmesan or grated cheese.

The Wee Man enjoying his dinner!