Bloke's Cookbook - Spicy Meatballs

One of the slightly vexing things about summer is that so much of my cooking is geared towards traditional bloke foods. Those foods include equal parts of pastry, potatoes, meat and beer. However, the weather's too hot for stodge on toast, so here's my take on an old fave.

This recipe basically takes the ingredients for the classic Spag Bol and does something a bit less dull to them. Preparation is long-winded - since the meatballs have to be chilled in the fridge for half an hour before you cook them - but straightforward. This recipe should serve 2 with some left over for a meatball sandwich for breakfast.

You will need:

Pasta (your preference, works well with tagliatelle, penne and fusilli in my experience);
2/3lb beef or lamb mince;
2 medium onions;
6 cloves garlic;
1 14oz(400g) tin plum tomatoes;
Olive oil;
Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Salt and Pepper;
Fresh basil leaves;
A food processor (unless you can chop onion and garlic very finely);
A large saucepan, wok or crockpot.
A second, smaller saucepan.

Firstly, make the meatballs. Take 1 onion, quarter it and put it in the food processor. Process until very finely chopped. If you don't have a processor, welcome to the headache of chopping onion very finely. Make sure your knife is razor sharp and chop finely. Now process/chop the garlic with the onion. Now add the mince to the processor, and then add 2 teaspoons of paprika and 1 of cayenne pepper, a grind of salt and the same of pepper. If you're processorless, put everything into a mixing bowl and mix by hand.

With everything mixed, time to create the meatballs. I suggest you make small ones rather than large but it's up to you. To create the right size, I make roughly golf-ball-sized ones first, and then split each one in two and reshape them to give me the right size. Take a chunk of mixture, roll it around between the palms of your hands to give you the right shape. Once each ball is made, place it on a plate or tray.

When you're finished, put clingfilm over the meatballs and place them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This helps to keep them firm and stop them falling apart while they cook.

Now, prepare the sauce the meatballs are to cook in. Roughly chop the remaining onion and garlic cloves. Put some olive oil into your large cooking vessel, and turn the heat on, then fry the onions at a medium heat until they start to soften but not brown. Then add the garlic. Keep everything moving in the pan, and let the garlic fry for a couple of minutes. Now add the tin of tomatoes, chop them while in the pan, and add some water - fill the empty tomato tin roughly half way with water and add it to the pan.

Stir this all together, and let it simmer for around 30 minutes. If you leave the lid off the pot for the last 15 minutes then you should end up with a slightly thicker sauce which will coat the meatballs better.

Pour some water into your smaller saucepan, add some salt, and turn the heat on.

Take your fresh basil leaves - a dozen or so - and shred them with your fingers, then add them to the sauce. Stir in.

Take the meatballs from the fridge, and place them in the simmering tomato sauce. If they're the same size as mine, they'll cook right through in 10-15 minutes. Move them around in the sauce every few minutes, to cook them evenly.

When the meatballs are nearly cooked, put the pasta in the boiling water and cook until it's al dente - ever so slightly firm. Then drain it in a colander, shake it, and mix it into the meatball pot, stirring it in gently. This will complete the cooking process and coat the pasta in the sauce. After a minute or so, empty the whole lot into a serving dish, and serve. Garnish with some grated parmesan or some of the leftover basil leaves.

If you're looking for an accompaniment to this, garlic bread is a safe bet. A sharp salad, with little gem lettuces, rocket and chard will work well.

Drink with: A cold crisp white wine or a simple lager like 1664.

Ease of cooking and preparation: 3/5 - Time consuming rather than complicated but worth the effort.

Mess Factor: 4/5 - Washing up a food processor is always a pain in the bum, but everything else is pretty straightforward. Two pans to wash up isn't too bad.

Leftover value: 4/5 - Cold meatball sandwiches are awesome. Cold meatballs and pasta is pretty good, too. Be aware that the cayenne pepper gets stronger the next day so you may want a glass of water to hand.