Herby meatballs in thick simmering and utterly delicious tomato sauce

We had burgers last night and since we are not exactly a family of meat eaters, we had about 250g of already spiced minced meat leftover. Have I mentioned I love leftovers? As in lurrrve coz it makes my life so much easier. Many a dinners have been made from just leftovers that have been assembled to form a some sort of tapas meal or a mini buffet. But anyway this time I have uncooked leftovers, which leaves even more room for creativity. And having a cold blustery autumn day gave me the perfect excuse to turn the oven on and scent the house with warm herby tomatoey smells. All without having to stand for hours in front of the stove! And it was perfect served with pasta and a side salad or you can even have it as a meatball sandwich. This is how I did it.

The Meatballs 
(I used half of this for burgers and the other half for the meatballs)

500g minced meat
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1/2 tsp of granulated garlic
1/2 tsp of dried rosemary (feel free to use fresh ones)
4 tablespoons of barbeque sauce
4 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
A generous pinch of salt
1egg
1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons of oil (I used olive but any vegetable oil will do)

The Herby, Utterly Delicious Short-cut Tomato Sauce

A pack of store-bought tomato sauce (I used the one with herbs)
A handful of basil
Pinch of salt
A dash of pepper
A sprinkling of granulated garlic
A few shakes of dried rosemary
A generous grating of parmesan
A tablespoon or 2 of good quality balsamic vinegar
Basil leaves for garnish.


Ready? Set. Go!



Preheat the oven at 200 degrees
Pour the oil into a casserole dish. For the meatballs, mix the meat and everything else together in a large bowl and form into meatballs (or patties of sausage shapes or whatever you prefer). Just make sure they are all of about the same size so that they cook evenly and take about the same time. Spread the meatballs onto the casserole dish.

In another bowl, add all the tomato sauce ingredients together EXCEPT the parmesan. Taste and correct the seasonings. It should not taste too acidic and sour. If it does, add a little bit of sugar. Otherwise, leave it as it is and pour it onto the meaballs. Make sure they are all mostly covered with the sauce, but it is okay if the tops are poking through. Finish with a generous grating of parmesan.

Slide the casserole dish into the preheated oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the meat is brown and cooked. (Meanwhile, mommies can sit and play with their children while singles can pour themselves a glass of wine).

When ready, tear a few basil leave and strew them on top. Serve with pasta or bread and a side salad for a complete nutritious meal that will leave your house and your family feeling warm inside and out. Who can resist that?

Mission accomplished.