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Italian

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Tender meatballs in a slow tomato sauce, spaghetti, garlic bread and a peppery rocket salad.

  • Serves4
  • Dishes4
  • Total time1 hr 4 min
  • Hands-on54 min
  • DifficultyEasy
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Hand-drawn ink illustration of the dishes in Spaghetti & Meatballs

Comfort food that looks after itself once the sauce is on. The tomato sauce simmers low while you roll and brown the meatballs; the pasta and garlic bread come together right at the end so nothing sits and goes cold.

To drink: A medium-bodied Chianti or Montepulciano.

The 4 dishes below are timed to finish together. Import the meal and Fatto schedules every step backwards from your chosen serving time. here's how that works.

The meal, dish by dish

Meatballs & sauce

  • 500 g beef mince
  • 1 egg
  • 40 g breadcrumbs
  • 2 x 400 g tinned tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • Basil
  1. Peel and slice the garlic and pick the basil leaves
    Prep / hands 3–4 min Hands-on Prep ahead
  2. Mix the mince with egg, breadcrumbs and seasoning, then roll into balls
    Prep / hands 12–15 min Hands-on Prep ahead
  3. Brown the meatballs on all sides
    Stovetop 8–10 min Hands-on
  4. Add the tomatoes, garlic and basil and simmer the meatballs in the sauce until tender
    Stovetop 25–35 min Unattended

Spaghetti

  • 400 g spaghetti
  • Salt
  1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil
    Stovetop 8–10 min Unattended
  2. Cook the spaghetti until al dente, then drain
    Stovetop 9–11 min Hands-on

Garlic bread

  • 1 ciabatta or baguette
  • 60 g butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Parsley
  1. Crush the garlic, chop the parsley and mash both into the softened butter
    Prep / hands 4–5 min Hands-on Prep ahead
  2. Split the bread and spread with garlic-parsley butter
    Prep / hands 3–4 min Hands-on Prep ahead
  3. Bake the garlic bread until crisp and golden
    Oven 200°C 8–10 min Unattended

Rocket & parmesan salad

  • 100 g rocket
  • Parmesan shavings
  • Olive oil
  • Lemon juice
  1. Dress the rocket with oil and lemon and top with parmesan shavings
    Prep / hands 4–5 min Hands-on