Baked Beef Meatballs With Tomato Sauce And Linguine

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7

Add the beef mince, panko breadcrumbs and a generous pinch of salt and pepper to a bowl

Mix thoroughly until fully combined (cleans hands is the best way!) and divide into 6 [12] and roll into meatballs

Boil half a kettle

Peel and finely grate the red onion[s]

Sit the beef meatballs over the grated onion in an oven-proof dish with a drizzle of olive oil

Put the dish in the oven for 5-6 min or until the onion has started to soften

While the onion is softening, dissolve the beef stock mix, tomato paste and a pinch of sugar in 150ml [200ml] boiled water

Add the dried oregano, balsamic vinegar and chopped tomatoes and give everything a good mix up – this is your tomato sauce

Once the onion has softened, add the tomato sauce to the dish and cook for 25-30 min or until the meatballs are cooked through (no pink meat!) and the sauce has thickened to a ragù-like consistency

Meanwhile, reboil a kettle

Once the meatballs have been cooking for 10-15 min, add the linguine to a pot of boiled water with a large pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat

Cook the linguine for 8-10 min or until cooked with a slight bite

Once done, drain the linguine

Wash the spinach, then pat it dry with kitchen paper

Once the meatballs are cooked, remove the dish from the oven and top with the spinach

Return the dish to the oven and cook for 1-2 min further or until the spinach has started to wilt

Mix it all together – these are your baked beef meatballs with tomato sauce