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Try these meatballs in tomato sauce, then check out more meatball recipes, such as our baked Italian meatballs, Swedish meatballs and vegetarian meatballs.

Ingredients

  • 500g lean pork mince
  • 1 small red onion, grated or very finely chopped
  • a pinch (optional) dried chilli flakes
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed in a pestle and mortar
  • grated to make 4 tbsp parmesan

TOMATO AND OLIVE SAUCE

  • olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 2 × 400g tins plum tomatoes
  • 4 cloves
  • 12 green olives, pitted and quartered
  • a small bunch basil, shredded
  • 300g tagliatelle
  • a knob butter

Method

  • STEP 1

    To make the sauce heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add the garlic and sizzle gently for a couple of minutes. Tip in the tomatoes and cloves, then simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened a little, squashing down the tomatoes as you cook.

  • STEP 2

    Meanwhile, to make the meatballs, put the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, season and mix well with your hands. Form into walnut-sized balls (you’ll get about 20).

  • STEP 3

    Heat a non-stick frying pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Brown the meatballs all over – do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.

  • STEP 4

    Scoop the cloves out of the tomato sauce, then add the meatballs and olives. Simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir in the basil to finish. Serve with buttered tagliatelle.

Check out our best meatball recipes

Italian Baked Meatballs Recipe

Authors

Janine Ratcliffe Portrait
Janine RatcliffeFood director
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