MEATBALL PASTA BAKE

Hey Guys,

Sorry there was no post last week, uni life definitely caught up with me. So because I deprived you all last week, I'll be putting up a post midweek, then back to the usual one on Sunday again.

Anyway, this one's going to be a food-y, money-saving-y, student-life-y kind of post. It's a recipe I thought I had to share because it's too easy and has helped me out many a time. So of course, I knew you all would appreciate it.

Whenever I'm running low on food and money - towards the end of the month - but I want something really filling to eat, I make a pasta bake. It's usually with whatever veg I need to use up in my fridge, and a meat - if I feel like it. If you're not too sure what a pasta bake is - it's basically a tray of pasta, coated in a sauce (I usually do tomato), usually accompanied by some vegetables and/or some meat, for example, some tuna or shredded chicken. This is then covered with cheese and baked in the oven - so, it's pretty straight forward.

Recently I made a Meatball Pasta Bake, inspired by a video by Sorted Food on YouTube (I say inspired because I've made a few changes to the recipe, as you'll see below). I had tried many a pasta bake beforehand, (tuna/chicken/sausage/mushroom/veg, the list goes on..), but I had never given the meatball one a try. So on Sunday, I decided to finally make it and document the whole thing.

Firstly, you'll need ingredients, obviously haha. But if you're anything like me when you're just cooking for yourself - I don't measure, so you can use as little or as much of one thing as you like. Here's (approximately) what I ended up using:

For the Meatballs (This made about 12 golf-sized balls)

500g Beef Mince
10g Garlic Granules
10g Smoked Paprika
5g Mixed Herbs
5g Salt
20g Onion, Small Dice
Tablespoon of Coconut Oil

For the Pasta Bake

12 Browned Meatballs
300 - 500g of Fusilli (You can use whatever shape you like..)
5g Salt
Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms
1 Jar of Pasta Bake Sauce
250g Cheddar, Grated

I started by making my meatballs. I combined all the meatball ingredients (except for the coconut oil) in a bowl until well combined. I then rolled them into balls and let them set up in the fridge for a couple hours while I got on with some uni work.

When I was ready to start cooking, I heated the coconut oil in a large pan and added in the meatballs. I used coconut oil because it has a high smoking point, which means I can cook with the oil for a long amount of time. This makes it the perfect choice for browning things such as meatballs in batches.

Now the plan wasn't to cook them, I was only browning them on the outside, so they'd develop a good amount of colour (and flavour) before entering the oven later on.

While these were browning, I diced up my onions, peppers and mushrooms on a chopping board with a large knife. I used about 300-400g of vegetables - I didn't really measure, I just eyed it.

I also put on my pasta to boil in salted water in a small pot. This should take about 7-8 minutes on a high heat.

After I had browned all sides of the meatballs, I took them out the pan and left them to rest in my baking dish (just to save washing up), in the oven at a low temperature (100C? Maybe even lower?)- you have to remember you've used beef, which needs time to rest before it can be cut or eaten.

Using the pan you used for the meatballs, discard half the oil, then place back on the heat and all of your veg. Why cook in the "used" oil? It has the fat, seasoning and saltiness from the meatballs that are going to make your veg, and therefore, your sauce taste amazing.

Your pasta should be done by now - you can test this by trying one - so drain off the water and leave it in the pot, ready to add to your other ingredients.

Fry your veg on a medium heat until it has a bit of colour, and the mound of vegetables you've added have reduced significantly. Take you meatballs out of the oven and add them to the veg and stir briefly, add your jar of sauce and stir until everything is well combined, then add your pasta.

Now if you're wondering why I haven't told you to taste while you go along, I KNOW - instinctively - that you already have been all along (you cheeky sod). It looked and smelled delicious and you just couldn't help yourself, so you've added seasoning if need be (I'm hoping), and now you can put the pasta bake in the oven with the knowledge it'll come out tasting like a work of art. Thank Ben for that.

Pour everything into your baking dish and evenly distribute your meatballs, so each portion has at least a couple. Cover with your grated cheese and cook in an oven (about 160C to 180C) until the cheese has melted and has started to colour.

TIP: Remember that everything is already cooked, except the meatballs, which need a few minutes in the oven just to finish off. Otherwise, you're just bringing everything together so it shouldn't need long in the oven at all. I'd say a good 10 - 12 minutes.

Right, so while this is cooking I'm going to talk you through the changes I've made to the recipe Ben did (Sorted Food).

1. Using a jar sauce instead of making your own. Most jar sauces will either be flour based or have an ingredient in them that allows for the sauce to stick to the pasta a lot better. So in my experience, you'll get an even distribution of sauce, and it won't sink to the bottom of the baking dish during the cooking process. Also, you don't have the added step of making the sauce.

2. Beef meatballs. I did make the same meatballs as Ben (with seasonings I had on hand), but in the future I would definitely mix meats to make a more succulent meatball. What I have in mind is a beef and pork one, because Domino's use this on their Mighty Meaty pizza (which is my favourite) and the meatballs I've tasted on there are the best I've ever had. Ever. You NEED them in your life.

But I've also done my research, and the internet agrees.

So by now your pasta bake should be bubbling and golden. Take it out the oven, plate (SOME of, not ALL of) it up and enjoy hot. And don't thank me, thank the Sorted Boys.

Guys, it tasted incredible.

See you all next week,

Christina x