Jono & Jules do food & wine

Spiced Meatballs in tomato sauce

We weren’t so sure about the cinnamon in this meatball recipe but it added a delicious warmth so don’t be tempted to leave it out or reduce the quantity. Much satisfied slurping!

Wine Suggestion: Tuscany beckons for this dish and the juicy red fruits of Morellino won this time to good effect. The MorisFarms (Spanish heritage but longtime settled in the Maremma in Tuscany) Morellino for our mind hits the spot and has an honesty and vitality of winemakers clearly part of their landscape. Bright red fruits and a delightful juiciness that only coastal Tuscany can deliver.

Spiced meatballs in tomato sauce – serves 6

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 2 x 400g tins cherry tomatoes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 oregano sprigs, strip off the leaves and discard the stalks
• ½ tbsp tomato purée
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp soft light brown sugar

FOR THE MEATBALLS:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 900g beef mince
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tsp ground mixed spice
• 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• Cooked pasta to serve (allow 100g per person) .

Make the sauce first. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan together and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and add a bit of water if necessary. Taste and season.

For the meatballs, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and cook the onion until soft and pale gold. Add the garlic and chilli, and cook for another 90 seconds or so. Put the cooked onion mixture into a bowl with the beef, spices and parsley and season really well. Use wet hands to form the mince into pingpong ball sized meatballs.

Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs in batches. They don’t need to be cooked the whole way through at this stage just nicely browned on the outside. Return all the meatballs to the pan, add the tomato sauce and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Stir the cooked pasta and meatballs together in a warm shallow bowl and serve.

(Original recipe from Food From Plenty by Diana Henry, Mitchell Beazley, 2010.)