Oven roasted veggies pasta with meatballs
Traditional Italian ragù is great, but it takes quite some time. This tomato based sauce is a quicker alternative, or maybe you feel like trying something different today!
Equipment
- Oven
- Blender
Ingredients
Sauce pt 1
- 750 g tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Meatballs
- 300 g chicken or turkey mince
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1-2 red chilies
- small handful of fresh parsley, stalks removed
- salt & pepper
Sauce pt 2
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 70 g double concentrated tomato puree (one of those little tins)
Pasta
- 180 g spaghetti, penne,... whatever you like! (60-80 g per person)
Garnish
- handful of basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C.
- Cut the veggies in rough chunks and put them on an oven tray. Drizzle with olive oil, add some salt and pepper. Put in the oven for 30-45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Finely chop the garlic, chilies and parsley. Tip them into a large mixing bowl, together with the rest of the meatball ingredients. Mix well. Wet your hands, and roll into balls (as big or small as you like!).
- Now is a good time to start thinking about boiling your pasta. Mine takes about 12 minutes, but check your package.
- In a large pan, add a bit of olive oil and cook the meatballs on medium heat, until fully cooked through.
- Tip the contents of the oven tray into the blender. Add the tomato concentrate, balsamic, some more salt & pepper to taste, and blend into a sauce. You can also add some more herbs and spices if you like.
- With some kitchen paper, clean out the pan you cooked the meatballs in, so there's no excess oil or any small burnt bits. Add the sauce to the meatballs in the pan to heat it through.
- Serve the pasta and sauce with plenty of fresh basil leaves!