Last night I made one of our favourite meals; Jamie Oliver's spicy meatballs. And I'll share the recipe with you! They're fantastic. This recipe serves 4-6 people, but they are divine, so don't underestimate the portions! I think my fiancee and I could happily eat this portion just the two of us...
Tomato sauce
olive oil
2-3 clover of garlic, peeled and chopped
a bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and stalks chopped (the leaves are later)
1 fresh red chilli, pierced with the tip of a knife app. 10 times
2 x tins of plum tomatoes
a good swig of red wine vinegar (or some old red wine)
sea salt and pepper
Heat the pan with some olive oil. Gently fry the garlic, basil stalks and the whole chilli. Then add tomatoes and red wine vinegar. Add salt and pepper and simmer for app. half an hour.
Meatballs
450 g minced beef
1-2 dried chillies, crumbled
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground nutmeg
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
sea salt and pepper
1 large egg
a handful of freshly grated Parmesan (plus a little extra for serving later)
zest of 1 lemon
Make all the ingredients into a nice dough. Shape into small meatballs using a spoon and your hands. Fry them in a pan until they have a nice brown colour and then add them to your tomato sauce. Remember to remove the chilli from the sauce!
Put the pasta on.
When the pasta is done, drain it and put it back in the pan. Add the sauce with the meatballs. Then add a knob of butter, some Parmesan and tear some of the basil leaves over it. Toss it all around. Done! Put some Parmesan and the basil leaves on the table for people to help themselves. Enjoy! Preferably with a glass of nice wine...
