from The Good Stuff
FEEDS: 4–6
PREP: 30 minutes
COOK: 30 minutes
This dish of Italian-inspired meatballs and sauce comes with a local twist. Chakalaka is the star of the show, and it sings as a sexy pasta and meatball coating sauce. It’s such a versatile ingredient and deserves more love than just making the odd appearance on a boerie roll.
THE SAUCE & PASTA
2 × 410 g cans Koo Chakalaka (mild or hot)
300 g spaghetti
2 tsp salt
2 knobs of butter
THE MEATBALLS
Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
A small knob of ginger, chopped
1 fresh red chilli, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
A small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
A small handful of fresh sage, chopped
2 slices of white bread (crusts removed), cut into small pieces
¼ C milk
2 eggs
½ C grated parmesan
¼ C ricotta
500 g pork mince
500 g fatty beef mince
2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
TO SERVE
Grated parmesan
A small handful of fresh sage, chopped
Pour the chakalaka into a bowl and blitz it with a hand-held blender until smooth.
For the meatballs, set a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Heat a glug of olive oil and then fry the onion until it starts to brown. Toss in the garlic, ginger and chilli, and fry for another 2–3 minutes until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper, then add the chopped parsley and sage and mix well to combine. Remove the pan from the heat. Scoop the mixture onto a plate and pop it in the fridge to cool down quickly.
In a large mixing bowl, add the bread and milk, and mix to combine. Let it stand for 2 minutes, then give it a good squish with your hand to mash it into a bread pulp. Add the cooled onion mixture, eggs, parmesan, ricotta, both types of mince, salt and pepper. Gently work the mixture to distribute the ingredients evenly, but do not overwork the meat. The longer you work it, the tougher the meatballs will be.
Preheat the oven to 230 ºC. Divide the meat mixture into 60 g portions (about golf ball sized) and shape them into balls. Place the meatballs on a baking tray and brush them with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 16–18 minutes.
To assemble, pour the blitzed chakalaka into a large frying pan and heat gently. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in salted water until al dente, drain, and then transfer it to the frying pan with the chakalaka. Add the butter and toss well to coat.
To plate, make a nest of the spaghetti, top with meatballs, spoon a little extra sauce over the meatballs, and finish with grated parmesan and chopped sage.
Recipe extracted from The Good Stuff.
