There are occasional days when I feel like a “foodie fraud”, because I just have no desire to cook and would be perfectly happy munching on marmalade toast instead. When I feel this way there is one single, simple dish that brings me back to the kitchen and boosts my home cooking spirits once again. Tasty, moist, morsel-sized meatballs. The rhythmical rolling of the mixture, the bubbling herb scented sauce and the satisfying twirling and snaffling up of spaghetti always manages to put me in a positive frame of mind, no matter how chaotic or complicated my day has been. 

I published a recipe for Must Make Meatballs on the 21st May, based on a Karen Martini version, which included pork sausages and featured a flavoursome sauce made from scratch. 

The meatballs pictured above are inspired by a Nigella Lawson recipe and are perfectly suited to a mid-week family meal as they can me made in about 40 minutes – or less if you are cooking for a smaller number of people. Of course this is entirely dependent on how quick you can be when rolling the meatballs, or how many little helpers you have hovering about the kitchen. 

Mid-Week Meatballs to feed 8 – 10 people

To make the sauce, sauté these ingredients for about 10 minutes over a low heat, in a large pot with a decent splash of olive oil:
1 large brown or white onion finely diced
1 carrot grated
2 large cloves of garlic crushed
sea salt to taste

Then, add: 
2 x 500 ml bottles of passata or similar (I used a combination of the two types pictured here)
Handful of fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
750 ml water – I filled up the sauce bottles accordingly, gave them a shake and poured the liquid into the pot.
250 ml milk

Bring to the boil briefly then reduce to a simmer. You can start on the meatballs while the onion/garlic/carrot mixture is sauteeing and then continue with your rolling while the sauce is simmering on the stove. 





For the meatballs combine together all of the following ingredients:
1.2 kg good quality beef mince
2 eggs
6 tablespoons semolina
1 – 2 tablespoons grated parmesan (depending on your taste preference)
1/4 teaspoon mixed dried Italian herbs
1 teaspoon sea salt

Take heaped teaspoonfuls and roll into bite-sized balls. Pile them up on a plate. When all of the mince mixture has been used, gently drop the meatballs into the sauce. Cook for about 15 minutes until cooked through. 

Serve with spaghetti or rice. Leftovers should be refrigerated and then heated through and eaten the next day.