Meatball Pasta Bake
Herby meatballs, rich tomato sauce and mozzarella make a delicious pasta bake.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 250 g beef mince
- 250 g pork mince
- 1/2 small onion finely chopped
- 70 g dried breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- olive oil for frying
- salt and pepper
For the tomato sauce
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small handful basil roughly chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper
And
- 150 g grated mozzarella
- 300 g pasta
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together well. Squash and squeeze it through your hands to ensure it's well mixed.
- Form the meatball mixture into 20 balls then refrigerate them for 30 minutes.
- Get a large frying pan on a medium heat and add a little oil. Fry the meatballs until they are golden on the outside. Remove from the pan and put to one side.
- Add a little more oil to the frying pan to make the tomato sauce.
- Add the onion and fry for five minutes, then add the garlic and fry for a few minutes more.
- Stir in all the remaining ingredients for the tomato sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and simmer for another 15 minutes.
- While the meatballs are simmering cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain when done.
- Preheat an oven to 180C.
- Mix the meatballs, tomato sauce and pasta together then tip into an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Notes
You can use just beef or pork mince if you prefer, you need 500g total weight of mince.