Pasta and Meatballs

If you don’t have ground meat at hand, cocktail sausages / frankfurters cut into little slices also do the job. Precooked (grilled or roasted) chicken and shredded, works nicely too. I love how versatile this recipe is. 

Pasta and Meatballs


For the meatballs –

500g ground turkey
1 onion, finely chopped
1 -2 green / red chillies, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 egg
2 slices of bread, soaked in water for a minute or so, squeeze to drain all liquid and crumble
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilly powder
A couple of tbsp Vegetable oil

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients, except the vegetable oil

Form into meatballs.

Heat a pan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil.

Fry the meatballs till they are golden brown.

Take off the heat and keep aside.

NOTE: You may need to fry the meatballs in batches. Add more oil to the pan between batches as needed.

For the sauce –

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/4-1/2 green capsicum, chopped
1/2 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs (you can use fresh if you have them on hand)
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes, optional
1 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 can whole peeled tomatoes / diced tomatoes
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1 tbsp olive oil

Place a saucepan over medium heat and pour in the olive oil.

Tip in the chopped garlic and saute for a few seconds till nice and fragrant. You do not want the garlic to burn.

Add the onion and fry off till the onions have softened.

Add the capsicum and stir fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the herbs and spices and stir well .

Add the can of tomatoes. If you are using whole peeled tomatoes, just use your spoon to break them down for a chunky sauce. If you want a smoother sauce, blitz the tomatoes in the food processor and then add it to the saucepan. I like mine chunky. (Also worth noting is they say the quality of tomatoes used to can whole, peeled tomatoes is better. The slightly more compromised / bruised ones go to make the canned crushed / diced tomatoes.)

Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil.

I add about 1/4 can of water (use the tomato can to measure and swirl it around to use up all the rest of the tomato sauce) and add as needed, to give you the desired consistency. Let it come to a boil again.

Cover and let the sauce simmer for about 10-15 minutes on low heat. The flavour in the sauce deepens with simmering.