My wife bought me Theo Randall’s magnificent ‘Pasta’ book for my birthday to add to the Imperia pasta machine she bought me for Christmas. I‘ve used his basic pasta dough recipe several times now, but none as successfully as this recipe I’ve modified from the spaghetti and meatballs recipe in Theo’s book. You can use freshly made spaghetti if you like (it is a bit of effort, but well worth it – and very therapeutic) but if you don’t have the time, inclination (or a pasta machine) good quality shop-bought dried pasta is fine.
Serves 2-4
For the pasta dough (makes enough for 6-8 servings)
200g ’00′ pasta flour
100g semolina flour
2 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
For the meatballs
8 good quality pork sausages, skinned
1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
1 tsp cayenne pepper
A little grated nutmeg
And the rest
Handful of rocket leaves
300 ml double cream
Lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. To make the pasta dough, click here for instructions. Leave to dry for at least 2 hours.
2. To make the meatballs, put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together, then form into golfball-sized balls with your hands. Dust with a little flour. Add some oil to a frying pan and cook the meatballs until they’re cooked all the way through, approx. 10 mins.
3. Add the cream and a little hot pasta water to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce a little, then turn off the heat. Stir through the rocket leaves.
4. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. If you’re using fresh spaghetti, cook for around 3 mins. If dried, follow packet instructions (around 8-9 mins).
5. Stir the cooked spaghetti through the meatballs and sauce. Serve with lots of grated Parmesan.
