Well-Good Meatballs

This is the ‘I-made-that’ pasta dish. It’s your go-to dinner that’ll hit all the right spots. The meatballs are all things beef Wellington, but in a ball (hence the ‘well-good’ name). They have everything you love about a meatball while incorporating rich-tasting mushrooms and being wrapped in Parma ham. You will be making a big batch of tomato sauce, you can freeze a half of it or use it for another dish, the following day - think shakshuka, lasagne or another pasta dish. Adapted from 'Poppy Cooks: The Food You Need', published by Bloomsbury.

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Ingredients

mushrooms 250 g (chopped)
garlic cloves 10 (crushed)
onion 1 (chopped)
fresh thyme 10 g (leaves picked)
beef mince 500 g
Dijon mustard 2 tbsp
parma ham 6 (halved)
cherry tomatoes 1.2 kg
red onion 1 (chopped)
fresh basil ½ handful (torn)
spaghetti 300 g
Parmesan to serve

Method

Preheat the oven

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan.

Prep the Ingredients

Finely chop the mushrooms or alternatively blitz them in a food processor.
Peel and crush the garlic. Peel and finely chop the onion. Pick the thyme leaves.

Cook the mushrooms

To cook the mushrooms: Heat a dash of oil in a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to a medium. Add ½ of the garlic, onion, thyme and cook for 10 minutes. Leave to cool slightly.

Make the meatballs

To make the meatballs: In a large bowl combine the beef mince, mustard and mushroom mixture. Season with pepper and mix well using your hands.
Roll the mixture into golf-sized meatballs (5 per serving).
Wrap each meatball in a Parma ham piece, then place them all on a baking tray.

Cook the meatballs

To cook the meatballs: Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Prep the ingredients for the tomato sauce

Meanwhile, prep the ingredients for the tomato sauce: Halve the cherry tomatoes. Peel and finely chop the red onion. Pick and tear the basil leaves.

Cook the spaghetti

Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Drain when cooked.

Cook the tomato sauce

While the pasta is cooking, cook the tomato sauce: Heat a generous glug of oil in saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add ½ of the cherry tomatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the remaining cherry tomatoes, the remaining garlic and red onion. Turn the heat down to a medium and keep stirring for 3-5 minutes, season to taste with salt.
Stir in the basil and take the pan off the heat.

Plate Up

Combine the meatballs with the tomato sauce and serve with the spaghetti and lashings of Parmesan. Enjoy!

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