This is one of those quick, comforting, homemade suppers that should be taken to the sofa with a glass of red wine.
3 tbsp olive oil
110g/4oz onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
150g/5¼oz fresh mozzarella, grated
1 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 x 400g/14oz cans tomatoes
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy stainless steel saucepan over a gentle heat and add the onion and garlic. Cover and sweat for four minutes, until soft and a little golden. Allow to cool.
In a bowl, mix the minced beef with the cold sweated onion and garlic. Add the herbs and the beaten egg. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Fry a tiny bit to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Divide the mixture into approximately 24 round balls. Cover the meatballs and refrigerate until required.
Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a stainless steel saucepan.
Add the sliced onion and the crushed garlic, toss until coated, cover, and sweat on a gentle heat until soft and pale golden.
Slice the canned tomatoes and add, with all the juice, to the onion mixture.
Season the contents with sugar, salt and freshly ground pepper.
Cook the tomatoes uncovered for approximately 30 minutes or until the tomato softens (while this is cooking make the meatballs).
Heat a frying pan and cook the meatballs for about 10 minutes in about three tablespoons of olive oil.
When they are cooked, put them into an ovenproof dish with the tomato sauce and top with the grated mozzarella. Place under a preheated grill until the cheese has melted.
Serve with spaghetti.
Type the ingredients you want to use, then click Go. For better results you can use quotation marks around phrases (e.g. "chicken breast"). Alternatively you can search by chef, programme, cuisine, diet, or dish (e.g. Lasagne).
Meatballs with herb salad
Pork meatballs with anchovies
See more meatballs recipes
Italian baked pancakes with cheese and tomato
See more Rachel Allen recipes
BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
