In need of a hearty, comforting meal that will impress your friends at a dinner party but is easy and quick to do? For a twist on the classic meatballs and spaghetti, try this pork and chorizo recipe from Eat Like A Girl:
Spaghetti with meatballs is a comfort food standard. Who doesn't love that fruity sauce with the pops of density and satisfaction all lingering in the arms of spaghetti? I like to pique my sauce with a touch of chilli to give everything a bit more life. I also like to spice the meatball a little by putting in some chorizo because it's a brilliant and easily sourced ingredient.
These are easy, and very economical. Minced pork is simply combined with chorizo, seasoned and given a little breadcrumb to lighten it. Fried and then cooked in a simple tomato sauce, these are great on their own on toast, but pasta is the king when comfort is required so I usually have it with spaghetti.
Making tomato sauce with tinned tomatoes is very easy, and you can make something very good, but there are a few tricks. Firstly, a little sugar to offset the tinny bitterness, then a little vinegar (I prefer sherry vinegar but cider vinegar works too) to give it another layer after the sweetness. A little chilli acts as a perfect flavour enhancer and tomato sauce without garlic is pointless as far as I am concerned.
This is an especially lovely meal to share with friends. The recipe below will serve four for lunch with 5 meatballs each. Get in a great bottle of red, and make a day of it. Do it, Italian style.
Ingredients - to serve four:
500g minced pork
150g chorizo, chopped fine (soft is best but normal is good if that is all you can get)
25g breadcrumbs
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tin of tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sherry or cider vinegar
1 small mild red chill, seeds removed and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 x 500g pack spaghetti
Sea salt
A handful of flat leaf parsley
Light oil for frying
Method:
Make your meatballs. Combine the chorizo pork and blitz a little with a blender but not too much, just to get the chorizo mingling properly. Add the bread a little sea salt. Fry off a little to check the seasoning and adjust if required. Shape into ping pong size meatballs, you should get about 20. Brown the meatballs in a little oil over a medium heat in a shallow pan and remove, setting to the side.
Add a little more oil and the garlic and chilli to the same pan. Add the tomatoes, paprika, sugar & vinegar and let cook for about five minutes. Add the meatballs and cook for half an hour, stirring every now and then.
In the last 10 minutes cook your pasta according to packet instructions in salted water. If your meatball sauce has thickened significantly thin it out a little with some of the pasta water. Then add the pasta and stir until the pasta is completely coated in the sauce.
Serve immediately with some chopped flat leaf parsley on top.
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