Cheesy meatballs in a tomato sauce

Ingredients

900g minced beef 1 large egg 1 litre passata 2 balls mozzarella 150g strong cheddar cheese 50g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped including stalks 10g thyme leaves picked from stalks 4 large garlic cloves finely chopped or grated 1 x large Spanish onion finely chopped Salt and black pepper 1tsp of sugar Olive oil Vegetable oil for frying Spaghetti – roughly 90g per adult

Method Put the chopped onion and garlic into a small saucepan and gently sauté in a little olive oil until translucent, but no colouring.

Chop the cheddar and the mozzarella into small chunks about ½cm to 1cm big.

Put the passata into a saucepan with half of the thyme and half the chopped parsley (leave a little parsley to one side if you want for sprinkling on the finished dish when serving), salt, pepper and the teaspoon of sugar.

Simmer until the passata has reduced and thickened – about 15 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl combine the mince about half the chopped parsley and half the picked thyme, the egg and the cooked onion and garlic mixture, salt and black pepper. I like to be generous with the pepper in this dish. Using your hands combine thoroughly.

Once combined get a large plate or baking tray and start to make the meatballs. Take a small lump of the mince mixture about the size of a cherry tomato flatten in your hand and make a small dimple in the middle.

Put a piece of the cheese – I alternate mozzarella and cheddar – into the centre of the mince mixture and shape your meatball around the cheese. Try to make sure the cheese is completely encased, and place the meatball on the baking tray. Repeat until all of the mince mixture is used up. You should still have extra cheese – we will use it all in the recipe.

Once the meatballs are made get a frying pan and an oven-ready dish or casserole pot. Put some oil into the frying pan until it is about 1cm deep. Heat the oil until you can put a little of the mince mixture in and it sizzles gently.

Fry off the meatballs until golden in colour, turning half way through. We are going to bake them in the oven, so don’t worry if they are not cooked all the way through. I do this in batches and put them straight into the casserole dish.

Once the meatballs are all made pour over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle over all the remaining cheese and put in oven gas mark 6, 180ºC for about 30-45 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden.

Remove from oven. I like to rest them while I cook the pasta. The mince will be better for this. Also, people don’t get burnt by red-hot cheese!

Cook the spaghetti as per instructions. I put the spaghetti in a big dish and pile on the meatballs, sprinkle with some parsley and let everyone dig in.