Meatballs (and sauces)

sandiep

Finely chopped onions, little bit of lemon juice, bit of finely chopped celery and mushroom, bit of italian herbs, and a little bit of chilli, and the garlic, bung in the tomatos, and tomato puree and simmer for a while to reduce.

hotcookie101

Chianti baked meatballs-yum yum yum. the tomatoes really thicken up to make a rich sauce. I usually start by baking them with thickly sliced onions and peppers with the 1st stage of the recipe, before I add the tomatoes. Really delicious sauce for pasta or with roasted potatoes and kale/cavolo nero/psb/asparagus

Pink.

Hi MsDee,

There are lots of recipes and advice in this thread that should help so I'll add your thread to it to keep the ideas together:

Meatballs (and sauces)

Pink

champys

Hello MsDee. my method is to take a tin of tomatoes (or some fresh ones once we have them in the garden), and whizz them in the food processor with a clove of garlic and some herbs (fresh or dried).
I then tip the mixture it in a frying pan, add salt, pepper and a good pinch of sugar and simmer until it is reduced down to the right thickness. It doesn't take long, and makes a nice sauce. I would not recommend thickening with flour as it dulls the flavour of the sauce.

nickyhutch

Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food recipe is very good.

Stephen_Leak

Tomatoey, herby. Try this ...

In a way, you already have. My Bolognese sauce recipe is just this plus some minced meat and a stock cube. The little tin of tomato puree not only adds extra "tomatoeyness", but also thickens the sauce. OTOH, you don't want it too thick - it does have to coat the pasta.

ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE

Enough for pasta for 2

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves of garlic
2 onions
2 tablespoons of olive oil
400g tin of plum tomatoes
140g tin of tomato puree
2 teaspoons of mixed herbs
Ground pepper to taste

METHOD

Peel the garlic and chop it into tiny pieces. Peel the onions and chop them into tiny pieces.

Put the oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion. Fry the garlic and onion for about 4 to 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Stir frequently to stop it sticking.

Open the tin of tomatoes. Put the juice into the pan. Chop the tomatoes while they are still in the can (it’s easier than chasing them around the pan). Put the chopped tomatoes into the pan.

Add the tomato puree and herbs. Stir thoroughly.

Continue to cook, stirring as the mixture boils, until the sauce has reduced.

Season with the pepper.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use basil instead of the mixed herbs.

Add a glass of wine and cook for a bit longer. Or drink the glass of wine and cook for the same time.

Add ¼ of a teaspoon of chilli powder to make it into an Arrabbiata sauce.


TIPS

Always "take the pasta to the sauce". Put the cooked pasta in the pan with the sauce and stir together until thoroughly coated.

Plum tomatoes can be used either whole or chopped. It is difficult to stick chopped tomatoes back together again if you need to use them whole.

meritaten

well I start with finely chopped onions sauted til just transparent in some olive or sunflower oil then add a crushed garlic clove. add a tin of chopped tomato or ordinary tomatoes mushed up!. then a pinch of sugar. simmer for a few minutes - then add whtever herbs you like - oregano is nice if you are doing beef meatballs, some chopped or dried rosemary if you are doing lamb. give it twenty minutes and the sauce should be nicely thick! and then taste and add pepper and maybe salt if it needs it!
For four people I would DOUBLE the quantities! or maybe we are greedy!

skintchick

I just put tinned toms in a pan, add loads of herbs and black pepper, then simmer for about 20 mins till it reduces and goes thick. one tin will serve two adults.

rachbc

if I'm feeling lazy I bung half a carrot, half a stick of celery a halved peeled onion and a peeled whole clove of garlic in with tinned toms and cook til reduced - fish out the veg and bung in the browned meatballs, if I'm feeling less lazy I chop the veg and saute, add the toms, reduce then blend with my stick blender before adding the meatballs

MsDee

Hi everyone,

Thanks again -

I think the key here is the simmering to make it thicker - I'll give it another try tonight and see how I get on.

I also need to make some lemon buttercream icing, will have a little google but if I can't see anything great, I'll post another post. Thank you xxx