Meatballs in Goulash Sauce

This recipe is brilliant, soooo tasty, with a bit of heat. I think the idea originally came from one of Delia's books.

1. 1

   Finely chop the red chilli, half a red pepper, and one of the onions and fry till the onions have sweated down then allow them to cool.

2. 2

   If you want, you can omit this bit and use them raw, but it makes the meatballs easier to roll and gets more flavours into the meatballs.

3. 3

   Add the cooled chilli, pepper and onion to a mixing bowl with the beef and pork mince.

4. 4

   Add the breadcrumbs (remember to squeeze out the milk if you used it), a handful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and the beaten egg.

5. 5

   Mix it all together till you're happy the ingredients are equally mixed.

6. 6

   Divide the mixture into equal parts, aiming for about 12 balls (3 per person).

7. 7

   Roll them into ball shapes, and dust in seasoned flour (salt and pepper).

8. 8

   You can skip the seasoned flour but it helps brown the meatballs and thickens the sauce somewhat.

9. 9

   Turn on your oven to about 180 degrees.

10. 10

    Take a casserole dish, and add some olive oil.

11. 11

    Brown off the meatballs, no more than six at a time and move them to a bowl so you can get the sauce going in the casserole dish.

12. 12

    Add the onion and the remaining half a pepper and get some colour on the onions.

13. 13

    Add a garlic clove and cook for half a minute then add one heaped tablespoon of paprika, and a heaped teaspoon of crushed cumin to the pepper and onion and cook for a minute-ish.

14. 14

    Then add the two tins of chopped tomatoes and lower the temperature until the tomatoes have warmed through.

15. 15

    Add the meatballs back to the casserole dish, cover with the lid and cook for approx 1.5 hours.

16. 16

    You might want to stir/turn over the meatballs halfway through.

17. 17

    10 minutes before serving, cook spaghetti or linguine if you want thicker pasta.

18. 18

    Serve on top of the pasta with a side dish of crème fraiche, or healthier option of natural yoghurt with fresh mint and pepper.

19. 19

    Finish with parmesan or pecorino, and parsley.