Scrumptious Spaghetti & Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is, for me, one of the first dishes that springs to mind when I think of truly classic food. I know it's not your typical English dish, but it seems to have made its way into our cuisine for whatever reason (I mean it's probably due to Italian migration to the US at the turn of the 20th century and the later influx of US culture in the UK, but let's not get too analytical here today on this food blog!)

Putting aside the probable historical past of spaghetti and meatballs, however interesting it may or may not be (I'll let you decide), the bottom line is that it's a really great dish! When done well it can burst with flavour, without being overpowering or bland. It's a true comfort dish in my opinion, and seems perfect for the colder winter months that are closing in. Now usually if I fancied spaghetti and meatballs I would take my little self to the shop and grab some pre-rolled meatballs, a jar of Dolmio sauce and some dried spag. But this time I thought NO! You are a FOOD BLOGGER - act like it! So, listening to my inner monologue I decided to go wild and make my meatballs AND SAUCE myself (I know, I'm a maverick). I decided to give making my own spaghetti a miss this time, but fear not, it's on my ever-expanding to-do list!

Intrigued to see how I got on in this super challenging feat? Well, check out the clip below on my YouTube channel (also subscribe too pls) and read on if you want to give it a go yourself. (Disclaimer: it's not challenging at all, please don't be put off by my sarcasm and do give it a go yourself 'cos this was very yummy).

Ingredients:

• 25 grams of white onion (this is about a quarter of a small onion)

• One medium-sized egg

• 55 grams of breadcrumbs - I used Panko breadcrumbs because I had them in my cupboard and they needed using up but you could easily make your own, especially if you have bread that's gone a bit stale!

• 225 grams of minced beef

• 150 grams of spaghetti

• 400 grams of chopped tomatoes

• Two cloves of garlic (big fat ones if you can!)

• Two tablespoons of oil, whichever oil you like to cook with!

• One tablespoon of red wine vinegar

• One tablespoon of water

• A pinch (level teaspoon if you want to be more precise) of dried thyme, basil and oregano

• A pinch of sugar

• A handful of grated cheddar cheese

• Aaaand (drum roll please) salt & pepper!

Method:

1. Start off by finely dicing your onion - you want the chunks to be pretty small as they're going to be part of the meatballs

2. Next, crack the egg into a jug, beat well and pop to the side for a minute

3. Then tip your breadcrumbs into a large mixing bowl, chuck in the diced onion and beaten egg and season well with our beloved pals salt & pepper

4. Throw in the tablespoon of water and give everything a good stir so that it's all combined

5. Next, add your minced beef to the breadcrumb mix bit by bit, gently pressing and squishing using your hands until everything is evenly combined

6. Once you're happy with how it's combined (no clumps of onion or breadcrumbs sticking together!), start shaping your meatballs by rolling small handfuls of the mixture between your palms or on a clean work surface. My meatballs were about 3x3cm, but you can go bigger if you like!

7. Lay the 'balls out evenly on a large baking sheet and pop them in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for twenty minutes, turning them once about halfway through

8. Whilst these are cooking, peel and finely chop your garlic and boil a full kettle of water

9. Next, heat your oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat

10. While that heats up, pour your boiled water into another saucepan and chuck in your spaghetti, then once the oiled pan is hot throw the chopped garlic into that

11. Leave your spaghetti to cook over a medium heat for about twelve minutes, and meanwhile add your sugar, red wine vinegar, chopped tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper to the garlic pan and stir well

12. Leave this to bubble away on a medium heat for ten minutes stirring occasionally, and whilst it does, grate your cheddar!

13. Once everything's cooked according to time, dish up (onto plates or in bowls, purely down to your own personal preference), sprinkle your grated cheese on generously and tuck in!

So there you have it, a simple and delicious spaghetti and meatball recipe I'm sure Italian's everywhere will applaud (probably not). It's not the healthiest dish I've posted on here, I must admit, however you could easily throw a few veggies into the sauce or whip up a little side salad if you were worried about that.

As it gets colder I always crave homemade dishes that will warm me from the inside, so this is definitely going to be a favourite of mine this winter. As usual I made this for two, so the recipe should serve two for you too, although as you can see from above we did have six meatballs each which was maybe a little too many, so maybe this could serve three or four people? I don't know, depends how hungry you are I guess! Anyway, that's it from me for now - I hope you enjoy this dish if you give it a go and if you do, don't forget to leave a comment below and tell me how you get on!