If I was to name one recipe that is ideal food therapy, it would be this rich tomato & Italian meatballs pasta. There is something extremely relaxing about rolling the meat into little balls and plopping them into a boiling, rich, tomato sauce. I rely solely on the heat of the sauce to cook and infuse the balls with flavour and I love to serve the dish on a big platter with serving spoons, so that people can dig in at the table.
For the meatballs:
250g pork mince
250g beef mince
100g breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp dried oregano
300g good-quality linguine
Sea salt and ground black pepper
For the tomato sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
2 x 400g (14oz) tins of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1⁄2 glass red wine (about 150ml/5fl oz)
Large bowl
Large saucepan