Pork Meatballs in a Rich Tomato Sauce

Pork meatballs in tomato sauce served with pasta is a real classic and making your own is much easier than you think. You can make meatballs from pork mince or it's also a great recipe for using up leftover pork from a roast. I've added sweet smoked paprika to the tomato sauce as it gives a lovely deep, slightly sweet flavour and goes well with the red onions. I also use a little cumin and parmesan cheese which adds great flavour.

Recipe Tips and Variations

• If you are short on time, you can make this recipe with good quality pork sausages. Just cut the sausages up into bite sized pieces. In the US, I would recommend using Italian sausages. Remove the sausage meat from the skins and roll the meat into balls. You might also like my Sausage Pasta Bake.
• Instead of pork mince, you could also use rose veal mince, which is not the same as white veal. Rose Veal is backed by The RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming.
• Pork Meatballs are a good way to use up leftover pork from a roast for example. Just put the leftover cooked meat in a food processor and break it down like mince, then add the other meatball ingredients. If you don't have enough leftover pork, you can add fresh pork mince to get the quantity you need. Remember you should only ever reheat meat once. If you'd like some more ideas on using up leftover pork, you might like to try Sweet and Sour Pork or Pork Stroganoff
• I like to brown the meatballs in a pan first before adding the sauce. I like the slight crispiness on the outside. It's also means they cook quicker. However, you don't need to do it this way, you can cook them raw in the tomato sauce.

How to cook raw meatballs in tomato sauce.

Cooking from raw in your tomato sauce without browning first does take longer, but you get nice tender meat and the flavour from the sauce slighly infuses the meatballs which is delicious. Keep the sauce on a low simmer and don't stir it for the first 10 minutes or the meatballs may break up in the pan. You should simmer them for 30 - 40 minutes. It obviously depends on how big you've made them. The safest way to check if meatballs are properly cooked, is to use a meat thermometer. Insert the meat thermometer into the middle of a meatball. The internal temperature should be 74°C / 165°F. Check a few as they will all be slightly different sizes. Alternatively, cut open a couple. The meat juices should run clear.

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Serving Suggestions

The most common thing to serve with pork meatballs is pasta and in particular, spaghetti. Serve with some grated parmesan cheese over the top and a few fresh basil leaves. Other ideas you might like are:-

• Serve them in a baguette or a sub sandwich. You need a bread with a thick crust to hold in all the sauce.
• Although the sauce is a tomato one, you can also serve meatballs with asian noodles. I would go for a thick noodle like an udon noodle.
• Rice goes well and can help to mop up the tomato sauce.
• You could also try potatoes, roasted or mashed.
• For a lighter option, try a green salad or green vegetables such as broccoli, green beans or asparagus.

How to make Pork Meatballs

Homemade meatballs are much easier than you might think. Mix the ingredients together in a food processor, or just use a large bowl.

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1. Mix all the meatball ingredients together. Take a heaped teaspoon of the mixture and mould it into a small ball about the size of a ping pong ball.
2. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and when it is hot add the meatballs and fry for about 5 minutes until browned on all sides. You may need to do this in batches. Remove to a plate and put to one side. If you want to cook your meatballs from raw in the sauce, see the note above. It takes slightly longer but the flavour really infuses the meatballs.
3. Now we've fried the meatballs, let's move on to the sauce. Tip the onion into the frying pan and fry over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sweet smoked paprika and fry for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the tinned tomatoes, half the basil leaves and salt and pepper and using an empty tomato tin, 1 tin of water (or 400ml). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the meatballs and cook for 20 minutes.. At the same time bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook as per the packet instructions.
5. Drain the pasta and serve immediately. Spoon the meatballs and sauce over the top, sprinkle with the remaining basil leaves and parmesan cheese.

Sustainability

All meat is not the same. Locally produced grass-fed, free range or organic pork has a much lower carbon footprint than industrially produced pork. If you have a local butcher, I would always recommend shopping there as your butcher will be able to tell you exactly where the meat has come from. Pork Meatballs are great for using up leftover pork and helping to reduce food waste. This is a great all year round recipe.

Storage

You can prepare these meatballs in advance and keep them in the fridge for 1 - 2 days uncooked. You can also prepare the sauce and just re-heat it when you're ready. Once cooked, the meatballs can be stored in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. If you have used leftover pork, remember you should only ever reheat meat once. If you have already reheated them, why not eat them up cold for lunch in a wrap with some salad? Pork meatballs can be frozen uncooked for 6 months. Cooked meatballs can be frozen for 3 -4 months to keep the best quality.

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