Nigella's Pasta with Meatballs

This is not very summery, and it's a long-neglected post, but it's raining today and I'm getting the first feeling that maybe, maybe this summer won't last forever after all, so here you go. It's a great dish - not very fancy, but that's what I like so much. Meatballs in Sweden are not generally served in sauce like this. The traditional way would be to eat them with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberries. Or with plain pasta, perhaps dressed with a little ketchup. But to make a whole pot of sauce and boil the meatballs therein - totally new. To me.

This recipe is from Nigella Bites, and I've made it over and over again. Super tasty! She always specifies to use dried oregano, and I never do - I usually opt for sage, dried or preferrably fresh. Also, I bet the British have bigger bottles of tomato passata than we do, since Nigella specifies a 700 g bottle. The packages I buy are 500 ml so that's what I use. And I've even used crushed tomatoes in a pinch when that was what I had at home - it was perfectly fine.

Pasta with Meatballs
Serves at least 6.

for the meatballs:
250 g minced pork
250 g minced beef
1 egg
1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp sage (dried or fresh)
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
black pepper
salt

I always start by cracking the egg in a bowl, mixing in breadcrumbs and spices and combining into a paste. Then I add the meat, and mix until combined. Shape the mixture into small balls and place on plates until you're ready to cook them.

For the sauce:
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp dried oregano (or other dried herb)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
500 ml tomato passata (or crushed tomatoes, it works too)
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
100 ml milk

Mix onion, garlic and dried herbs in a food processor into a paste. Heat butter and oil in a big pan, and gently fry the onion mixture on medium heat for about ten minutes. It shouldn't color much. Add the tomatoes, and about 3-400 ml of water. Season with salt, pepper and sugar, and boil for about 10 minutes. Stir in the milk, and start adding the meatballs, a few at a time. Don't stir until the meatballs are looking brown rather than pink, or they might break. Cook everything for about 20 minutes, then adjust seasoning to your liking.

Serve with your choice of pasta.

Köttbullar med tomatsås