Spaghetti & "Meat"balls

Andreea and I are both huge fans of spaghetti - in fact, any pasta. No time to cook? Pasta. Raining outside? Pasta. Need a food to pair with this wine? PASTA.
You’ll notice a theme that a lot of our dishes seem to revolve around pasta, but that’s absolutely fine; it’s cheap, it’s available and there’s such a wonderful assortment of dishes you can prepare with the myriad of different pasta options that really obsessing over pasta would be a bit rude really.

This is a recipe we initially posted on our Wordpress blog before we gave it a bit of a glow-up and one that a lot of our friends have tried and enjoyed, and if I’m coming over to your house and you made me this I would be very VERY happy!

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yield: 3-4

Author: Chris Unwin

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

A staple, a classic and as it turns out, a cheap, easy and delicious date night dish!

Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 medium Brown Onions, finely chopped
• 5 large cloves Garlic, 2 of them sliced thin, the rest finely diced
• 1 medium or large medium-hot Red Chili, seeds removed and finely sliced
• 3 tbsp Tomato Puree
• 1 tin Chopped Tomatoes
• 150ml Red Wine (and another 50-75ml in case more liquid is needed)
• 2 tbsp Tamari (or Soy Sauce)
• 1 "glug" (or 1 tsp-ish) vegan Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Smoked or Sweet Paprika (Not hot)
• 2 tsp Mixed Herbs
• 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1.5 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• Enough Spaghetti for 2 (or 3 if you're third-wheeling) - we used about 120g total uncooked for 2 of us (GF, regular or whole-wheat)
• Your favorite vegan "Meat"balls of choice, or homemade - this is optional, as the sauce is cheap and easy and goes great on the pasta even without the meatballs!

Instructions

1. Cook the "meat"balls as per the directions on the packet/recipe (just short of the packet cooking time, you'll finish them off in the sauce)
2. In a pot over a medium-high heat, cook the chopped onions stirring frequently to prevent sticking (use a tbsp or two of water if needed) until translucent, about 4-5 minutes
3. Add the garlic and chili and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes
4. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and stir together, taste with a small spoon - add extra salt, chili, tamari or herbs at this point to taste (I only needed an extra glug of Worcestershire sauce)
5. Bring to the boil and then cover and turn down to a simmer for about 15 minutes, stir every 5 mins to prevent sticking
6. Remove the lid from the pot, stirring the sauce every now and again but mostly leaving to simmer (if it gets too thick at any point add a little extra of the reserved wine) for a further 20-25 minutes
7. Whilst the sauce is cooking, prepare and cook the spaghetti to packet instructions in a pot of salted water
8. Whilst you wait for the Spaghetti to cook, add the "meat"balls to your sauce, stir through and turn heat right down to keep warm - if your sauce is still quite liquid, turn the heat up a little more as you do want it to be nice and thick when served
9. When ready, drain and plate up the pasta then top with the "meat"balls and sauce, and optionally top with Vegan Parm

Buon Appetito!