Meatballs With Tagliatelle in a spicy Tomato Sauce

What You Need

1. 500g beef mince
2. 1 onion finely chopped
3. 1 slice of bread, crumbed
4. Salt & Pepper
5. Vegetable or Corn oil
6. 1 tin chopped tomatoes or a carton of Passata
7. Good squeeze of tomato puree
8. ½ tsp dried chilli
9. 5-6 balls of tagliatelle

What You Need (Optional)

Fresh chilli (use this instead of dried.  Deseed and chop finely)

Grated Cheese

How To Do It

1. Put a pan of salted water on to boil for the tagliatelle.  When boiling add the tagliatelle, stir to seperate and cook until just soft. Drain the water once cooked.
2. If you have a food processor, chop the onion finely then add to a bowl, if not then chop the onion as fine as you can.
3. Put the slice of bread in the processor and crumb then add to the onion. Or, tear the bread in to very tiny pieces then add to the onion.
4. Add the mince, salt & pepper to the onion & bread crumbs
5. With your hands, squeeze all the mince, onions and bread crumbs together to make a soft smooth mixture.
6. Divide into about 12 small portions.  Take each portion and form into a ball.
7. Heat about tblsp of oil in a large shallow pan or frying pan.  Add the meatballs.  Fry gently, turning from time to time so that all the meatball browns.
8. When they are browned all round, remove from the pan and place on a baking sheet and keep warm in a low heat oven.
9. Drain any excess oil into a cup to cool down.  Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir round scraping off any meat residue from the pan.
10. Add the tomato puree and the chilli.  Stir well until the sauce starts to bubble.  Turn down and simmer for about 5mins.
11. Pile the tagliatelle into warmed bowls, place the meatballs on top and spoon over the tomato sauce.

Tips & Suggestions

Try grating some parmesan over the top for that Italian finish