Winter Warmer

I cooked this before Christmas - the last proper meal I bothered to cook before the stress of flight cancellations! It is very comforting and rich, and I rather enjoyed it!

Veal Meatballs with Slow-cooked Tomato sauce and Spaghetti


Ingredients
olive oil and butter for cooking
 - For the sauce -
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon chili flakes
2 carrots, finely diced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
300ml veal stock (chicken or beef is fine)
 - For the meatballs -
500g veal mince
1 cup crushed crackers
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grated nutmeg


Start off the sauce first: Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, then add the butter and let it melt in the hot oil. Next, add the onion and saute until it begins to turn translucent. Add the garlic and chili and saute for a minute, then add the carrot and saute for another minute or so. Next add the tomatoes and the stock. It should look a bit like this:

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down so that it is barely simmering, cover and leave to cook for 2-3 hours.

Now for the meatballs: in a bowl, combine all the ingredients, using your hands or a spoon to make sure everything is well mixed

Shape the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls, then cover and refrigerate for at least half an hour*. To cook them, fry them in a little olive oil and butter until they are cooked through and crispy on the outside. Serve them with spaghetti, and the sauce, which will have reduced over the cooking time and become thick, rich and flavourful.

*The raw meatballs can also be frozen at this point - freeze them on a baking sheet, then when they are hard, put them into a tupperware or freezer bag