Tried & Tested: Meatballs in a rich tomato sauce with a juicy Sangiovese

It's coming to the end of the month, and winter is by no means easing off so I thought it was time to bring out an old classic to help warm up the chill of an evening.  I tried out a recipe that my mother used in my younger years as she taught me the basics of cooking, which over time I've adapted and added my own methods to, keeping the ingredients as they always were.

I accompanied this rich tomatoey dish with the juicy Elki Sangiovese, Elqui Valley 2012 from Viña Falernia, combining subtle oaky flavours of the wine with the beef meatballs drenched in ragu style sauce.  Tasting the wine before and during dinner highlighted different elements to its flavour, with the vibrant juiciness being the front-runner until the wine blended with the full flavours of the dish - definitely one to try again, and something that will work with plenty of other tomato based recipes.

The reason I bake this recipe instead of cooking the whole dish on the hob is that I find it retains all the juiciness of the meat and infuses it into tomatoes - creating a deliciously rich sauce, whilst stopping the meat drying out.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Method

Put the oven on at 190 degrees to preheat.

First, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and mix together well - it's always best to get stuck in with your hands and make sure the mince is softened nicely and blends well with the other ingredients.

This recipe can make about 15-20 small meatballs, so you can portion how you like - I prefer them smaller so that they don't dry out. If the mince is soft enough they should roll into a smooth shape, making them less likely to fall apart when cooking.

In a large frying pan, sweat the onions and garlic with the olive oil on a low-medium heat.  Once they have softened, gently place the meatballs in so that they are all touching the base of the pan.

Gently seal all edges of the meatballs without browning them too much.  Place the plan to one side when finished. 

For the sauce, heat up the passata, chopped tomatoes, sugar, tomato puree, salt and pepper all together in one pan.  

Once the sauce has blended together and simmered for a minute or two, tip the meatballs, onion and garlic into a large casserole dish and pour the tomato sauce over - covering all of the meat.

Bake this in the oven for 25-30 minutes, opening once to stir half way through.

Serve with pasta, rice, potato or veg depending on your preference - even some crusty bread to dip in the sauce can be a nice addition!  

Elki Sangiovese, Elqui Valley £7.75

+10% off when you buy 12+ bottles

By Olivia Moore