Baked Meatballs Pasta

Pasta is an Italian origin and a staple food for Italian. There are like so many varieties of pasta that are available in the market. There are spaghetti, the smaller ones called spaghettini, flattened ones like fettucine and linguine, tagliatelle..there are also short ones like macaroni, cannelloni, fusili, penne and lot more that we  probably couldn't find them in our country. Hmmm..I must go to Italy or Spain someday and see how pastas are being made. But regardless how many pastas are there in the market, actually the basic ingredients are all the same. Pastas are made of semolina flour, egg, salt and water. Just like our local noodle, it's just that we are using wheat flour instead of semolina.  Ok..I am not doing another thesis now, it is just my muqadimah for my next food entry. Everybody in the house like pasta, instead of the normal spaghetti bolognaise, this week we are doing Baked Meatball Pasta.

First we need to prepare our meatballs. It can be prepared ahead, put them in airtight container and freeze it. Just before using, take the meatballs out, shove them in your microwave for a few minutes to thaw..drizzle some olive oil in a pan and fry them under a low heat until slightly brown. 

Meatballs Ingredients:

500 gm mince beef or chicken

1 yellow onion - finely diced

2 cloves garlic - crushed

1 carrot - grated

1/2 cups of grated parmesan cheese

1 cups of breadcrumbs

Dash of salt and pepper

Method:

In a large bowl, mix well all the ingredients and roll into 30 balls. Cover with a cling film and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Drizzle some olive oil in a frying pan and fry them on a low heat until it slightly brown on the side or until cooked. You may not need to fry all...freeze some of them for future use.

 Baked Meatballs Pasta

Ingredients:

250 gm spaghetti or linguine or macaroni - your preference. Cook them as per packet instruction and drain the water. Put aside.

200 gm minced beef

1 yellow onion - diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 can of spaghetti sauce Prego or Kimball or whatever brands that u like

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1 cups of pizza topping cheese (a mix of mozarella, parmesan, cheddar)

Method for sauce:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan or a heavy bottomed pan. 

2. Saute the onion and stir for about a minute or until translucent. 

3. Add the beef and cook until it is brown and crumbly. 

4. Pour the whole can of sauce and fill up half of the can with water and add to the sauce. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stir occasionally. Put aside.

Now let's do the baking...

1. Heat your oven 175 degrees Celsius

2. Grease you casserole with some olive oil.

3. Lay 1/2 of your pasta in your casserole, top with half of the sauce and sprinkle with the grated parmesan cheese. Next, put some meatballs on top of the layer...how many meatball? Up to you. Then put the remaining pasta, then pour the remaining sauce and cover the casserole with pizza topping cheese.

4. Put it in the oven for half an hour and enjoy!