Melting Meatballs with Pasta
"Kids of all ages love this dish that's easy to make and very hearty."
- Ready In:
- 2hrs
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 100 g mozzarella cheese
- 500 g lean ground beef
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 30 g butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 large red onion, finely chopped
- 500 g tomato passata
- 250 g pappardelle pasta or 250 g other curly pasta
- 100 g fresh parmesan cheese
directions
- Cut the mozzarella into little chunks.
- You'll need one for each meatball.
- Put the beef into a mixing bowl and season with salt, pepper, cumin and thyme.
- Add the egg and mix it all together, preferrably with your hands.
- Have a bowl of water ready to wet your hands after making each meatball.
- Take some of the meat mixture in one hand, flatten it a bit with your palm and put a chunk of mozzarella on top.
- Then roll the meat around the mozzarella until you have a walnut-sized ball.
- Place finished meatballs on a plate and chill for an hour.
- Heat the olive oil and half the butter in a frying pan.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened.
- Add the meatballs and cook for five minutes, until a little crisp and golden, stirring gently from time to time.
- Add the tomato passata and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes, keeping the heat low and stirring occasionally.
- Cook the pasta according to the packet directions.
- Drain well and toss in a bowl with the remaining butter.
- To finish, stir the pasta into the tomato and meatball mixture.
- Serve, sprinkled with parmesan.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
I loved this recipe. I thought the meatballs were very different and delicious - what a pleasure to cut into one and have a nice gooey hunk of cheese in the center. The sauce was quite flavorful, if a little thin, for a relatively short cooking time. I left out most of the butter at the end of the recipe and didn't miss it - in fact, next time I will reduce all of the butter by half. I also used only half of the cheese.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
This is a picture of me and my husband in Portugal, climbing up above the clouds with our bikes.
Right now we are travelling around the world on our bicycles, so I only pop onto Zaar occasionally, when internet connections and time allow me to. If I don't reply to a message about one of my recipes, now you know why! Our trip may take several years so if it's urgent, it's probably better for you to post in the forums ;)
Good food is really important to me -- I am happy to pay extra for food that I feel is produced in a sustainable and ethical way and always try to eat using seasonal produce.
When we were in the UK we rarely shopped at supermarkets, trying instead to favour small producers, although we were very lucky in that we lived in London and there was lots of choice.
We also were fortunate enough to have a weekly organic veg box delivered to our door, filled with so many lovely vegetables for very little money. It really opened my horizons in terms of the variety of vegetables I eat. If you're in the UK, check out Riverford for a box supplier as they're amazing!
When I'm not eating I love to take pictures and travel with my husband.
<img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZWT2.gif">
