Baked meatballs with linguine

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 400g beef mince
• 1 brown onion, coarsely grated
• 25g (1/4 cup) dried (packaged) breadcrumbs
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 1 tsp Woolworths Select Dried Italian Herbs
• 700ml passata (tomato pasta sauce)
• 400g dried linguine pasta
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh continental parsley

• Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Combine mince, onion, breadcrumbs, garlic, egg and herbs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Use clean wet hands to roll 2 tablespoonfuls of the mixture into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
  2. Place the meatballs in a 2L (8-cup) capacity ceramic baking dish and pour over the passata. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water following packet directions or until al dente. Drain and return to the pan.
  4. Divide the pasta among serving bowls and top with the meatball mixture. Sprinkle with the parsley to serve.

  Notes

  • Variation:
  • Middle Eastern meatballs & rice: Swap beef mince for lamb mince and the dried Italian herbs with ground cumin. Replace parsley with fresh coriander leaves and stir into meatball mixture at the end of step 2. Swap linguine for 200g (1 cup) long-grain rice, cooked following packet directions. Divide rice among serving bowls. Top with the meatball mixture to serve.

    Preparation Time

    20 minutes

    Cooking Time

    25 minutes