Chicken and chorizo meatballs

Oven baked meatballs. Remember to use a big saucepan or the meatballs won't fit in!

Feeds four, prep time 20 min, cooking time 40 min eating time 10 min.

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Ingredients

500 g chicken mince (or thighs)

100 g breadcrumbs

A good pinch of salt

One egg

100 g chorizo

Can of tomatoes

Onion and garlic

Vegetable stock pot (or cube)

About a teaspoon each of dried oregano, thyme and chili flakes. Add other herbs as you like, and black pepper too.

Two tablespoon cooking oil (peanut or vegetable)

Pasta - about 75g dry pasta per person

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You’ll need two big saucepans and a baking tray. Oven to 180 C (fan), gas mark 6.

If you can’t get chicken mince, use a blender to mash up the required amount of chicken thighs. Use the same blender to shred the chorizo (and make the breadcrumbs, unless you want to buy them).

Breadcrumbs and shredded chorizo in a Minimixer.

Combine the mince, chorizo, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, herbs and spices in a bowl and mix well. You can do away with the egg if you add more salt or leave the mix for longer – overnight is best. Form into 12 or so meatballs. Smaller ones will cook quicker, you might make 20.

Meatball mix. The salt and egg bind the meatballs. If you don't want to use egg, salt will bind the mix if you leave it long enough.

Distribute the raw meatballs onto a baking tray with an oiled baking sheet. Brush with a little oil and bake for 20 minutes until browned – check they are done with a meat thermometer if you have one.

Ready to cook, meatballs on a foil-lined tray. The oil helps brown the meatballs and reduces sticking to the foil.

While the meatballs are in the oven, make the tomato sauce. It would be an option to make this earlier – a couple of hours earlier – since the flavour improves with time. Depends on how busy you are.

Fry chopped onion at a low heat for at least 5 minutes until they are translucent. If you have time, fry at a very low heat for even longer until they caramelise. Add garlic, spices and dried herbs, fry for another minute.

Add the tin of tomatoes, rinse out with half a can of water and add this to the sauce. Add the stock cube/ stock pot and simmer.

Boil the pasta as directed on the packet. It’s a good idea to time it so that the pasta is done about five minutes after the meatballs are come out of the oven.

Meatballs after 20 minutes in the oven. A bit of browning adds flavour. And yes, OK, they did stick to the foil.

Once the meatballs are cooked, transfer them into the pan with the sauce. This is why you need a big saucepan and I've never made the mistake of using a small saucepan. Oh no, siree, matey Bob!

Meatballs in tomato sauce.

Garlic bread goes very well with this.