Spaghetti Pomodoro
with Melt in the Middle Meatballs
Sleeves rolled up! Hands washed but still damp, let’s get rolling! The skill is in wrapping the mozzarella cheese entirely with the meat, so it’s hiding, ready to be discovered when everyone tucks in. Surprise, surprise!
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
1
Red Onion
2
Garlic Clove
1
Mozzarella
(Contains Milk)
50
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains Cereals containing gluten)
1
Dried Thyme
500
Beef Mince
30
Tomato Puree
5
Italian Style Herbs
2
Chopped Tomatoes
1
Beef Stock Pot
400
Wheat Spaghetti
(Contains Cereals containing gluten)
40
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains Milk)
Not included in your delivery
150
Water
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Halve, peel and finely chop the red onion. Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press). Cut the mozzarella cheese into 1⁄2cm cubes. Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry half the onion for about 5 mins until soft (keep the rest of the onion for the sauce). Add half the garlic, the breadcrumbs and the dried thyme. Stir and cook for another 1-2 mins.
Remove from the heat, transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the beef mince and half the tomato purée. Season with a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper. Mix together. Use damp hands to shape the meat into small (ping pong sized) balls around each cube of mozzarella cheese. TIP: This is a perfect job for small hands, keep hands damp so the meatballs don’t get too sticky.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Heat a glug of oil in the (now empty) frying pan on medium-high heat. Fry the meatballs for 10-15 mins, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides and cooked through. Take them out of the pan and set aside. Be gentle when turning the meatballs, otherwise they might fall apart. TIP: The meatballs are cooked when they are no longer pink in the middle.
Heat another splash of oil in the same pan. Fry the remaining onion, garlic and Italian herbs for 4 mins until soft. Add the tinned tomatoes and water (amount specified in the ingredient list) to the sauce along with the remaining tomato purée and the beef stock pot. Simmer until the sauce has reduced by half, 15 mins. Add a pinch of sugar (if you have some).
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water. Cook for 11 mins or until ‘al dente’. TIP: ‘Al dente’ simply means it is cooked through but has a tiny bit of firmness left in the middle.
Tip the cooked meatballs into the sauce and gently mix together. Simmer until the meatballs are piping hot. Drain and divide the spaghetti between your plates, top with the meatballs and sauce and grate over the parmesan. cheese Top with any remaining mozzarella cheese cubes and serve. TIP: Adults may need a bib as well as smaller members of the family! It could get messy!
