Spaghetti and Meatballs

This will be my first post containing a recipe. I say recipe but to be honest I don't tend to follow them. I don't say that to be pretentious and I'm not trying to be interesting or 'whacky'. It's just not how I cook. I like to see what I've got available to me in the fridge and cupboards and see what happens. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but however it turns out I learn from it, that's for sure. On the rare occasions I bake, of course I follow a recipe, baking is a science and something which, although getting better, I have always seemed to struggle at. Therefore, my 'recipe' and probably the others that follow, will not contain specific measurements, instructions or timings. Just a guideline for certain things to point you in the right direction. I believe a lot of cooking is done by eye, touch, feeling and most of all, tasting. Sometimes you just know when it's ready.

The meatballs I made before I was very kindly summoned to eat out the other night were kept in the fridge. The aroma from the pesto in the meatballs took over the fridge and opening the door was like being transported to Italy. Actually, spending twenty four hours in the fridge would have only helped to intensify the flavour. The meatballs were very simple to make. Just beef mince, mixed together with a pinch of salt, cracked black pepper, dried mixed herbs, two teaspoons of green pesto and an egg to bind everything together. Just shape the meatballs in your hands to the size you fancy. 500 grams of mince made twelve meatballs for me, but the beauty of making these kind of things yourself is you can make them as big or small as you like and they only took about ten minutes to cook. As they were browning nicely I cooked the spaghetti. I love to make my own pasta but it can be a time consuming process so shop bought did the job this time. When the meatballs were nearly done I made a very simple tomato ragu in the same frying pan with some passata, mixed herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper and that was it! After mixing it all up and leaving it on a low heat for a minute while I drained the pasta the sauce and meatballs were ready. If the whole meal was authentically Italian I would have shaved a couple of curls of parmesan on top but some classic mature British cheddar had to do. I have to say, the meatballs were really good and the pesto made for a fresh, nutty flavour. It's not something I'd done before but will definitely do it again. But let's face it, pesto makes everything better doesn't it? It's a simple, quick, tasty meal anyone can make, just give it a go.