Caroline's Saucy Kitchen

• 2 pounds ground beef/minced beef
• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs – about 4 slices of old bread*
• 1/4 cup store-bought Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients for Spicy Red Sauce

• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 1 hot green chili chopped
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 x 28-ounce cans smooth tomato sauce or Passata
• 1 x 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 6 ounces of tomato paste
• 1 cup broth, chicken or vegetable
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon crushed red peppers (more if you like it spicier)
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Make your red sauce first:

In a very large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Then add the chopped onions. Gently fry them until they are soft and slightly browned. Add the chopped garlic and hot green chili and saute for a couple of minutes. Add all the other remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and leave to simmer while you prepare the meatballs.

Preparing the meatballs:

1. Into a large bowl, add breadcrumbs and milk, and leave to soak. In the meantime, chop your onions and garlic together (using a food processor) until they are totally mushy. Add all the ingredients to the bowl containing the soaked bread. As this is the messy part, I usually wear a pair of disposable gloves to help in shaping the balls.   Mix all the ingredients.
2. Take lumps of the meat mixture and shape into balls. They will shrink when cooking. Keeping that in mind, I make mine about the size of a large golf ball. You should get between 20 and 25 balls. You can either brown the meatballs in a large frying pan with olive oil or under the broiler/grill – I usually use the broiler method
3. In a frying pan, over a medium-high heat, add half the amount of meatballs and gently brown, turning once. Place the browned meatballs into the red sauce. Brown the remaining balls and then add them too.
4. Under the broiler/grill, place all the meatballs on a large broiling pan. Put them under the grill at high heat. Brown them for 6-8 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown for another 4-5 minutes. Gently add them to the red sauce.
5. Add all the meatballs to the sauce. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for at least 2-3 hours.  I usually prepare mine the day before we want to eat them, as they taste even better the next day.  Great for freezing and leftovers.

*To make fresh breadcrumbs. Use day-old bread in your food processor and pulse a few times until you see the breadcrumbs form.