My dear husband thinks he is Italian, he loves everything Italian. Especially their cuisine. Quite honestly I’m not that Italian inclined but I do make him Italian dishes if I’m trying to get out of trouble or for a special treat :).
To nudge me in the Italian direction, he decided to exploit one of my soft spots; kitchen gadgets. He bought me a pasta maker a few weeks ago and I have not had a chance to give it a try. Ok, it is more like I’ve been fearful of going face to face with flour again. But I have built my courage, have looked up how to assemble the machine( as easy as it looks on TV). And I have a game plan.
Part of the game plan is involving Mr in the making of the pasta, maybe the cooking bug might get him too. A girl can wish, right?
For dinner tonight: Homemade Spaghetti with meatballs in a rich tomato sauce.
What do you need?
- Homemade Spaghetti
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Lean beef mince
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Egg – Oatmeal biscuits- made into crumbs.
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Tomato purée – Red wine
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Veggies- onion, spring onions, garlic, mushrooms, carrot, yellow pepper, ginger.
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Spices- white and black pepper, cayenne, paprika, cinnamon, sweet basil, oregano.
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Herbs- parsley and coriander from my garden.
Method
- For homemade pasta- check out previous post: home made pasta. This actually turned out so well, surprisingly for a first timer.
– The meatballs: into a bowl add the mince, then finely chopped veggies( half an onion, a spring onion, half a carrot, yellow pepper), 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of ginger. Mix with 1 egg and 1/2 cup of biscuit crumbs. Then add in the spices; 1 tsp each of salt, white pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, oregano, sweet basil. Mix in the herbs- 1 tbs of parsley and coriander. Combine well, mould into small balls.
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In a hot pan, place the meat ball and brown all sides.
- Preheat oven at 230 deg.
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In the meantime. Making the sauce. Into a pot, add chopped half onion and soften, then add spring onions, 1 tsp of garlic and mushrooms. When soft, add 3/4 cup of tomato purée. And cook.
In 5 min, add 1/2 cup of red wine, season with salt, black pepper and 1/2 tsp of paprika. Cook for 10 more min. Add a splash of water to prevent the sauce from being too thick.
Then in a oven friendly casserole dish or pan, place the meatballs and the sauce in the oven to finish cooking. At 230 deg for 15 min.
When done, dish up and sprinkle cheese, parsley and coriander on top of meatballs. And serve!
Buon Appetito!
