Crusty Meatball Pasta

Bil cooked this one up for Leo and me.....the recipe is from Silvana Franco's Hi Lo Cookbook. It's easy enough to make, mostly using things you've already got in the cupboards and is ideal for a mid-week evening meal.






You need:

700g jar Passata
2 tsp Dark Muscovado Sugar
1 lemon - grated rind and juice only
2 Garlic cloves - roughly chopped
1 red Chilli - de-seeded and roughly chopped
small bunch of Parsley - roughly chopped
75g crustless White Bread
250g lean Minced Pork
1 Egg
300g Pasta shapes - such as spirals or penne
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

Place the Passata, Sugar and Lemon juice in a pan and heat gently.

Meanwhile, place the Garlic, Chilli, Parsley and Lemon rind in a food processor and blend until finely chopped. Add the Bread and blend to make crumbs. Finally, add the Mince, Egg and some salt and pepper and pulse briefly until well blended - take care not to overblend or the mixture will lose its texture.

Shape the mixture into 20 small balls and drop them into the Passata sauce. Simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to packet instructions.

Drain the pasta, toss with the meatball sauce then turn into a heatproof dish.

Scatter over the Parmesan and a good grinding of black pepper and bake for 20 minutes until the top is crusty and golden.

Feeds 4