Mother's Day

This is a special request from my bestfriend for her loving adoring husband.

You know who you are Daisy!

For Mother’s Day you have been ordered to make her pasta, and she has asked me to provide you with a recipe – so make it good!

Her all time favourite pasta (that I make) is.....

Spaghetti and meatballs

(as you can see I used Tortiglioni - because I'd run out of spaghetti)

This will make enough to serve 4 - but you could double the meat and make more, enough for several meals – perfect for freezing

Red Sauce:

2 bottles of best quality passata or 4 tins of crushed tomatoes (I like the Mutti ones)

1 clove of garlic - whole (don’t chop up)

1 small onion, peeled and halved – (do not chop it up)

1 carrot – peeled and sliced in half

To make your sauce:

In olive oil gently fry your garlic, onion and carrot until they look like they’re just about to pick up some colour

Then add your tomatoes

Season well with salt and pepper (I like a little crushed dried chilli)

If you want you could throw in some herbs (I do) sage, rosemary or basil would be yummy

(I used parsley and rosemary)

Bring to a simmer and let it bubble while you prepare the meatballs

Pre-heat your oven to 160c

Take the onion and garlic out of your sauce (with tongs), this should be quite easy if they haven’t broken up to much 

Do this just before you start putting your meat balls in

Your sauce should have been cooking for at least 20-30min - (but who knows with you Daisy...your sauce may have been cooking a little longer!)

For the Meatballs:

250g mince beef

250g mince pork

3 slices of bread or 1 cup – whizzed into crumbs

Enough milk to soak the crumbs - between ½

- 1 cup

½ cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 carrot grated on the finest side

1 small zucchini grated the same way - (mine was to big, I didn't use it all)

2 garlic cloves finely grated

½ cup of parsley chopped very finely

1 egg

Salt and pepper

HOW YOU MAKE THEM DAISY:

Put your breadcrumbs into a bowl and pour your milk over the top 

After you’ve grated your zucchini and carrot – squeeze out any excess liquid from them with your hands

Now get a large bowl and put your meat in

SEASON THE MEAT

Then add all your other ingredients (that you should have prepped prior)

With your clean hands or gloved hands, mix everything together super thoroughly – (this will take about 10min if you do it properly)

Once finished wet your hands and roll out little balls with your mixture, place on a plate with a sheet of wax paper in between every layer of meatballs

In a shallow fry pan with a little olive oil fry your meatballs until there is colour on all sides

GET YOUR PAN HOT WITH A LITTLE OLIVE OIL AND THEN PUT YOUR BALLS IN

Then add them to your pot of sauce – repeat until all finished

Pop the pot in the oven on 160c for 15 min while you cook the pasta

The balls will melt in your mouth – I'm not kidding!

Cook your pasta until a couple of minutes under al’dente

Then warm some of the sauce (without the meatballs) in a pot and add your almost cooked pasta with a little of the pasta water (half a ladle) and finish cooking.

Serve with a little extra sauce and lots of meatballs – don’t be stingy Daisy, she likes lots!

Lastly lashings of parmesan cheese

Good Luck!!
(Don't forget to freeze any leftover sauce)

If only I could deliver these personally I would. 
But instead we will eat them for dinner tonight (I will think of you with each mouthful) and then on Sunday night Rochie will be served them for Mother’s Day (a thankyou for looking after Wilco, while I take the girls to see Mary Poppins).
I, will be having a special Mother’s Day the weekend after. Max is shooting his first short film this weekend (good luck Babe), which means I'll be doing it solo with the troops. 

And lets not forget my favourite part of Mother's day– receiving presents picked especially for me, from my girls, bought at the Mother’s Day stall at school (always memorable – to say the very least)!

©Michelle Schoeps 2013

All photos taken by Michelle Schoeps