First, start with the tomato sauce. This is a simple sweet sauce to complement the savoury meaty meatballs.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Throw in your roughly chopped white onion and carrots and cook for a few minutes. Dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water. Add this along with all the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until onions and carrots are soft enough to blend.
While this simmers, in a bowl combine the breadcrumbs with the milk and let them soak for a few minutes. Then add in the garlic, egg, Parmesan cheese, meat, parsley and basil and season well.
Mix with your hands for a few minutes, not too long because it can make the meatballs tough.
Spray a baking tray with oil and make them into medium-sized balls the size of a large egg. Spray with oil and then colour under a hot grill for about 10 minutes.
As they are colouring under the grill, remove bay leaves and thyme stalks and liquidise the tomato sauce with a hand blender until it is smooth and then place back onto a high heat to reduce slightly.
When the meatballs have browned nicely, take them out of the oven and place them into the sauce for 35–40 minutes on a low heat with the lid on.
Cook your pasta of choice (I recommend pappardelle or spaghetti) in salty water, until al dente, and drain, reserving a mug of the pasta water. Return the drained pasta to the warm empty saucepan.
Taste your sauce and adjust the seasoning to your taste and then spoon a few ladles of the sauce on top of the pasta, along with a splash of the pasta water, and mix around until the pasta has absorbed and is coated by the sauce.
Serve in a nice spiral and top with as many perfectly moist meatballs as your hungry heart desires.
Buon appetito, amici.
Recipe by Colleen Ramsey (Colleen Ramsey: Bywyd a Bwyd).