Veal meatballs, passata and ricotta

Babiche Martens

Change up your regular meatball dish with this veal passata. And you can bottle and store any leftover passata for up to a year.

Ingredients

500 g	Veal mince
2 cloves	Garlic
1	Onion, grated
1 Tbsp	Dijon mustard
2 tsp	Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp	Brown sugar
1	Egg
1 to taste	Salt & freshly ground pepper
500 ml	Olive oil
500 ml	Tomato passata
200 g	Spaghetti
100 g	Ricotta cheese
1 to taste	Fresh oregano
1 to taste	Basil

Passata - makes 3 cups

1 ½ kgs	Tomatoes
3	Garlic cloves
¼ cup	Basil leaves
¼ cup	Extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp	Salt
½ tsp	Sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Put the mince, finely chopped garlic, onion, mustard, rosemary, sugar, egg and seasoning into a bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands then form into small meatballs.
2. Brush a baking dish with olive oil. Add the meatballs and roll to coat with the oil. Spoon over the passata and bake for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water and serve with the meatballs. Add spoonfuls of ricotta and plenty of fresh basil and oregano.

Passata

1. Put the cored tomatoes, sliced garlic, basil, oil, salt and sugar into a heavy based saucepan. Cook over a low heat for 2 hours then pass the mixture through a foodmill.
2. Return to a saucepan and continue to cook for a further hour or until the mixture has become a thick and rich sauce. If not using over the next few weeks, pour into sterilised bottles and store for up to one year.