Beef Meatballs and Farfalle in Tomato Sauce

This is the adaption of OneSpicyMama's Turkey meatballs and Rigatoni that I have been meaning to do. Since minced turkey are either a rare find or too pricey, I went for the more economical, actually not very cheap, minced beef. At over S$3.50 per 100 grams for FRESH minced beef, I settled for about 250grams which churned out more than enough balls for 2 ladies. I will learn out buy about 200 grams next time when serving only two. The FRESH minced beef cost about S$1 more than FROZEN minced beef. This is when quality beats quantity!

While OneSpicyMama has her trusty Cuisinart chopper to puree the onions and garlic I had to fall back on my lousy Akira chopper attachment that comes with the blender that came as a christmas present last year from one colleague who till date I don't know who that arse is. While I shouldn't be complaining cuz my lentil soup gets blended nicely most of the time, the chopper attachment really failed me. Instead of pureed mixture from the onions and garlic, most are still left in the state I had them in before tossing them into the chopper! Madness. But I just had to make do with it and went ahead to mix this half-chunky-half-pureed mixture with the other ingredients in the list and then roll them into balls.

The ingredients that serve 2 goes as...

Beef Meatballs

200 grams minced Beef

1/2 small Onion

1 clove Garlic

1/4 cup Breadcrumbs

1/8 cup grated Parmesan Cheese (omitted)

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Salt, or more, to taste

Freshly ground Pepper

Marinara Sauce

28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
2 to 3 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Sugar
2 to 3 teaspoon Dried Basil

The Making Process...

Beef Meatballs
Puree Onion and Garlic in a mini-chopper or food processor

Combine pureed Onion, Garlic, minced Beef, Breadcrumbs, Parmesan Cheese, Egg, Salt and Pepper in a medium bowl until well combined

Roll mixture into 1½" balls

Heat medium skillet on medium high and brown meatballs on all sides, about 3 minutes per side

Add to pot of hot Marinara Sauce (see below) and cook on medium low for 15-20 minutes

Serve with pasta of your choice with grated parmesan cheese

Marinara Sauce

Heat Olive Oil in a medium saucepan on medium high

Add minced Garlic and saute until golden

Add can of Crushed Tomatoes, Sugar and Basil

Mix and cook on medium low for 15 to 20 minutes

I used Farfalle solely because the girlfriend I invited over had not had this type of pasta before and pasta is her ultimate favourite food, so the least I could do is to her try it!

I will also enter this dish for this week's Presto Pasta Night, hosted by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein, founded by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast. Do check out Ulrike's site on Friday for the roundup!