Down and Dirty with Pork & Tomato Sauce Serves 6 The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. This dish takes a little work but it is well worth it. There is nothing better than a warm plate of spaghetti with pesto-smothered meatballs ready to eat on a cold, dreary winter day. **Ingredients** One recipe Sweet Pesto 500 g–600 g minced (ground) pork 1 egg, beaten 5–6 spring onions (scallions), diced 5–6 cloves garlic, diced 2 slices (30 g) pancetta, diced 200 g Pork & Tomato Sauce 3 tablespoons oil, if needed for frying 400 g spaghetti **Equipment** Bowl (bowl-shaped container) or container to mix ingredients in Meat grinder Frying pan Medium saucepan Skillet or wok for stir frying Spatula Saucepan for boiling spaghetti **Method** 1 Make the meatballs by mixing the pork, egg, onion and garlic in a bowl and then grinding it in a meat grinder with a little salt. The mixture should be moist enough to cling together but not too wet. When the mixture becomes too wet, add a little of the spaghetti or pasta water, a little at a time, until it binds together. You can also add 2–3 teaspoons of oil to keep it moist. Now form the mixture into balls with about 10 cm (4 in) diameter and 3–5 cm (1–2 in) in height. 2 Heat the oil in a frying pan, then gently fry the meatballs over a medium heat until golden brown. It is important to move them around constantly so that all parts are cooked evenly. 3 Put the tomato sauce in a saucepan and boil over a medium heat, mixing occasionally. 4 Boil the spaghetti in a saucepan of boiling water until al dente. Drain and add it to the saucepan with the tomato sauce. 5 Stir gently over medium heat until the sauce starts bubbling. Add a little more water if you think it's too dry. Cover and cook for a few minutes, then remove the lid and stir again. 6 Put the meatballs in a serving dish, add a little pasta water if it's dry and serve with the spaghetti, which should be stirred again to mix in the sauce. * * * How to make spaghetti? It is quite simple. Cook spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente, according to the instructions on the packet. Drain the water and keep the pasta hot. Put the spaghetti in a pan with a little bit of oil or margarine. Add a ladleful of the boiling pasta water and stir until it has been incorporated into the spaghetti. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with a side bowl of grated parmesan cheese for those who want it. * * * * * * Ingredients for the tomato sauce 2–3 cloves garlic, crushed 2–3 tablespoons dried basil 2 tablespoons olive oil 500 g canned chopped tomatoes 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon black pepper * * * The best tip for making spaghetti? When I was growing up, my mother always used two large spaghetti tubes to make spaghetti. Sometimes we had so much fun with spaghetti, we used four tubes at once. She made it like this: she took a big piece of pasta, the largest she had available, and she cut the piece into smaller pieces. And she put them into boiling water until they were done. The result was spaghetti with extra length. You can also cut the tubes into pieces before cooking. * * * A Pesto & Linguine Roll-up Serves 6 This recipe is a real wowser for your cooking efforts. Everything is prepared in one pot: the filling, sauce and bread, which is then rolled up into the dish to be served, making a lovely presentation. So, you start by preparing the béchamel sauce for the bread to be spread on, and then the filling is prepared and served rolled up in the bread with the sauce. You will only need one bowl to prepare the ingredients. **Ingredients** 1 loaf Italian bread 1 clove garlic 3 egg yolks 125 g grated parmesan or pecorino cheese (cheeses similar in texture) 1 quantity Basil Pesto 100 g tomato passata (sieved tomatoes) 125 ml (1 cup) grated mozzarella Olive oil for frying 250 ml (1 cup) grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling **Equipment** Knife Cutting board Bowl or small roasting pan Rolling pin Spatula Toothpick 1 Turn on the grill or preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F). Cut the crust off the bread and then tear it into three pieces lengthways. Use a rolling pin to flatten the pieces. Tear the pieces into smaller pieces so that there are 12 pieces. You can roll them and place them in the fridge. 2 On a cutting board, finely chop the garlic cloves. Mix with the egg yolks in a bowl, along with the grated parmesan or pecorino. Blend with a fork until it becomes smooth, about 1–2 minutes. It should be able to stand without breaking apart. 3 Fold the mixture into itself and then spread it over the bread. 4 In a baking dish, start to make the sauce. Spread a little béchamel sauce on the bread, then add a layer of tomato sauce and a layer of grated mozzarella. Place 3–4 pieces of rolled-up bread on top, then the remaining béchamel and mozzarella. Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese. Leave to sit for 10 minutes, or until the bread is heated through and the mozzarella melts. 5 Place the baking dish in the middle of a very hot grill for 5–6 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown. Serve hot, with a small bowl of extra parmesan cheese for people to sprinkle on. * * * Pesto & Linguine Roll-up Serves 6 This recipe makes an appetising and easy dish. Serve it on the hot plates of a restaurant. **Ingredients** 1 recipe Basil Pesto 300 g fine linguine 3–4 tablespoons olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 150 g mozzarella or feta cheese, diced 1 handful basil leaves, finely chopped 3–4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional) **Equipment** Knife Bowl (bowl-shaped container) or container to mix ingredients in Fork or whisk Spatula Saucepan for boiling linguine Grater Small saucepan for the sauce Spaghetti strainer Spatula **Method** 1 Make the pesto sauce. It is very quick to make – just add all the ingredients to a bowl and mash them all together with a fork, blender or fork to make a thick paste. 2 Cook the pasta. Boil 200 ml (1 cup) water in a saucepan. Add a good dash of olive oil and put in the pasta, together with some salt. The pasta should be able to stand up without bending, but not quite so much that it crumbles apart. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain. Spread out on a chopping board or plate to drain any remaining water. 3 To prepare the filling, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the diced mozzarella or feta cheese and heat until it is beginning to melt. Then add a splash of pesto. Remove from the heat and mix the pesto and cheese together well, and place a heaped tablespoonful on one side of each pasta tube. Cover the pasta with a few basil leaves and then roll it up. 4 Cook the sauce in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the grated cheese, mix thoroughly and then pour into the bowl. Slice the basil leaves finely and scatter them over the top. 5 Serve the pasta and pesto with fresh parmesan cheese, if you like. * * * How to make pasta? When you're in doubt about how much liquid to add to pasta when you cook it, simply follow these simple steps: start with a small amount and check the pasta after 5 minutes. If the water is not quite boiling, remove the pan from the heat. Once you are satisfied that the pasta is cooked, remove it from the heat and drain it. Add more water to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, then check again and drain. Add more liquid to the