Nigella Lawson's easy pasta recipe perfect for autumn family dinners
This is the perfect dinner for cooler weather.
Finding dinner options that appeal to the entire family, don't require hours of preparation and remain relatively nutritious can prove genuinely challenging. Fortunately, Nigella Lawson offers plenty of inspiration for delectable meals that everyone will enjoy.
As temperatures drop and evenings become darker, comfort food becomes essential and these meatballs fit the bill perfectly. They're straightforward to prepare and taste wonderful.
What's more, if you have young children, they'll love helping to shape the meatballs.
To make these meatballs you will need
- 250 grams pork mince
- 250 grams beef mince
- One large egg
- One tsp dried oregano
- Three tbsp breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper
- One chopped onion
- Two cloves minced garlic
- One tsp dried oregano
- One tbsp unsalted butter
- One tbsp olive oil
- 700 grams chopped tomatoes or passata
- One pinch sugar
- 100 mls full fat milk
- Salt and pepper
Method
To prepare the meatballs, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix using your hands. Line a chopping board with baking paper and, again using your hands, shape the mixture into balls.
Keep them fairly small - approximately a teaspoon of mince per ball - and arrange them on the baking paper, then refrigerate while you prepare the sauce.
If you possess a food processor, blitz the onion and garlic together. If not, simply chop them finely by hand.
Heat the butter and oil together in a large deep pan, then add the onion and garlic. Cook over a low to medium heat for roughly 10 minutes, taking care not to let the mixture catch.
Add your tomatoes and then fill the empty tin or bottle with approximately 300ml of cold water.
Add this to the pan with a pinch of sugar, some salt, and pepper, and allow it to cook for a further ten minutes.
Stir in your milk, then carefully lower in the meatballs. Resist stirring them until they've developed a brown colour, as premature movement may cause them to break apart.
Allow the mixture to cook for approximately 20 minutes, keeping the lid partially on. Dish up over a bed of spaghetti with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
