Meatballs with Pasta Fasta Sauce

I asked the question on the Phill's Cookin' Mormon Facebook page for some thoughts on the first dish I should make. Melissa suggested dessert (as I love desserts), Kristen something savoury, and Kristine suggested something Christmasy as she was celebrating the  Ukrainian Orthodox Christmas. Quite a range of suggestions!


Well I love  Italian food (my Dad is Italian)...and I was in the mood for something fresh and savoury (I already had ice cream in the freezer and no dessert can compete with that in my book). So I decided on Meatballs with Pasta Fasta Sauce. Not terribly Christmasy but it is winter in the US so it fits the bill of being comfort food on a cold day. It was a cool day in Sydney with a summer thunderstorm underway so it was a perfect dish all round.

Harris Farm Market, Broadway Shopping Centre
(taken on my iPhone)

I went to the green grocer in the morning to get the ingredients and also decided to try using 50% pork  mince instead of 100% beef mince as I have seen in Italian restaurants that pork mince is also used.



All up the ingredients cost about A$28.00 (about US$28.00 as the AUD is at parity with the USD); the most expensive ingredient being the parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

Some ingredients (spring onion only for show!)
(Canon 5D MKII)

I allowed myself two hours to cook this dish as for those that don't me, I don't like to cook and tend to be disorganised in the kitchen and can't really time things too well (thought to self...so why did I set myself this challenge again???).

Prepared meatballs with simmering sauce
(Canon 5D MKII)

I made the Pasta Fasta Sauce first and whilst that was simmering, I made the meatballs. I didn't enjoy shoving my hands into the raw meat and mixing it all through but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.






The sauce was super easy to make and I thought it was going to be really bland but a pinch of salt and pepper was all it needed to help the flavour develop. I did use double the Roma tomatoes and fresh Thyme from the garden and let the sauce simmer for an hour before cooking the meat balls.

Gone in less than five minutes!
(Canon 5D MKII)

The final dish tasted superb and the recipe made enough for three man size servings (four if you didn't want to have the "this is so good I am going to force down the final few mouthfuls" feeling).










Overall summary:

Category	Pasta Fasta Sauce	Meatballs
Ease of preparation	Way easy	Moderate, as you need to make a sauce, make pasta, mix it, add cheese etc.
Time from prep to table	60 minutes	60 minutes
Taste	Would order again	Would order again
Visual appeal	Restaurant appeal	Restaurant appeal
Radicality (i.e variation from my normal cuisine)	0	0
Recipe enhancement tips	Leave to simmer for up to 1 hr to let flavours develop	Use 50% pork mince for a milder, creamier tasting meatball (I did 50/50)
Final assessment	Pass with flying colours	Pass with flying colours