Sausage Meatball & Tomato Sauce With Fresh Orecchiette

Before you begin...

Get all your ingredients and equipment ready

Skim through these steps, then wash your fruit and veg

Note: Equipment and pan sizes vary. Make sure you cook food thoroughly (even if it takes you a little longer than 10 min)

Now, let's get started!

Boil a kettle

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a high heat

Roll your sausage meat (remove the paper if required!) into 6 meatballs per person (clean hands are the best way!)

Once hot, add the meatballs to the pan with a pinch of salt and cook, turning occasionally, for 4-5 min or until starting to brown

Meanwhile, add your fresh orecchiette to a pot of boiled water with a large pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat

Cook the orecchiette for 4-6 min or until cooked with a slight bite

Once done, drain the orecchiette, reserving a cup of the starchy pasta water

Reboil half a kettle

While the orecchiette is cooking, peel and slice (don't chop!) your garlic

Chop your parsley finely, including the stalks

Dissolve your chicken stock mix and tomato paste in 250ml [325ml] [450ml] boiled water –this is your tomato stock

Once the meatballs are starting to brown, add the sliced garlic, dried oregano and dried basil to the pan with 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] flour and cook for 30 secs or until fragrant

Once fragrant, add the tomato stock to the pan and cook for 3 min or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the meatballs are cooked through (no pink meat!)

Stir the drained orecchiette and half the chopped parsley (save the rest for later!) into the sauce and give everything a gentle mix up until the pasta is nicely coated – this is your sausage meatball & tomato sauce with fresh orecchiette

Tip: Add a splash of starchy pasta water if your sauce is looking a little dry