A staple meal in our house. The recipe varies a little each time I make it but this is tonight’s recipe! There’s not much to say about it really, it’s a simple warm filling year round meal.
Serves 4 (with enough for seconds ;o) )
750g minced beef
6 thick cheap pork sausages*
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
herbes de provence
2x400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp ketchup
~200g mushrooms, sliced
– In a large bowl mix together the minced beef the insides of the sausages (discard the skins), half the onion and 1 of the cloves of garlic along with 2 tbsp herbes de provence and salt and pepper to taste. Get in there with you hands!
– Shape the mixture into balls with your hands and place them on a floured plate or chopping board.
– Lightly dust with flour and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably in the fridge.
– In a very large deep frying pan brown the meatballs, in batches if necessary.
– Once browned on both sides tip in the tinned tomatoes with a quarter of a can of water. Add the tomato puree, ketchup and mushrooms as well as another tbsp of herbes de provence.
– Gently stir the sauce to mix in the space between the meatballs and poke the mushrooms down into the liquid.
– Put on a lid and leave for 15 minutes until the sauce is bubbling.
– Take the lid off and continue to simmer for another 45 minutes on a gentle heat stirring occasionally.
– Serve on top of spaghetti all covered in cheese!
*Better yet use a pack of sausage meat, preferably from a butcher, rather than already made sausages. You will notice such a difference if you do. Alas it was a thrown together meal tonight so no sausage meat.
Anna in the kitchen 