Meatballs in Campari Sauce

I’m a great fan of spaghetti Bolognese, hamburgers and meatballs. In other words any way you can combine beef mince and lots of lovely flavours into a delicious dish!

Here’s a recipe for meatballs with a little bit of a twist. The source is made with Campari instead of red wine. The Campari gives the sauce piquancy - a slight sweet/bitter flavour.

As well, it’s a quick make method - the meatballs are cooked in the sauce.

---

For the meatballs

500g beef mince

1 medium onion, finely chopped

Salt

Black pepper 

Squeeze of Tabasco Sriracha sauce

25g fresh breadcrumbs (or more)

1 medium free-range egg

For the sauce 

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 

1 teaspoon squeezy garlic (use a minced clove of fresh garlic if you like)

3 tomatoes , chopped

Salt

Black pepper 

140g tin tomato paste

1/2 wine glass Campari (75mls)

2 large wine glasses water (300mls) 

A handful of fresh basil leaves

---

To make the meatballs, combine the beef mince and onions in a bowl, then add the other ingredients, making sure the egg and breadcrumbs are mixed in well.

Form the mixture into golf ball sized balls and chill in the fridge for as long as it takes to make the sauce.

Preheat the oven to 190°C fan.

To make the sauce, add the oil to a large oven proof frying pan or casserole dish. Heat on medium on the stovetop. Fry the squeezy garlic until just cooked, be careful not to burn it. Add all the other ingredients and stir well. Cook on a medium heat until the tomatoes are softened, about 15 minutes.

Remove the pan/casserole dish from the heat, pop in the meatballs and place the pan/dish in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

If you want to make sure the top of the meatballs are nice and brown, turn on the grill for the last couple of minutes of cooking. Not really necessary, but do it if you like.

Serve the meatballs with grated Parmesan cheese, spaghetti or plenty of crusty bread.