Ingredients
Method
1.Preheat oven to hot, 200°C. Lightly grease eight, 1 cup Texas muffin pan recesses.
2.In a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook spaghetti following packet instructions, until al dente. Drain well and return to pan.
3.Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat half oil on medium. Saute onion and garlic 4-5 minutes, until onion is tender. Spoon half into a large bowl and set aside to cool.
4.Stir puree, half tomato paste and vinegar into onion in pan. Bring to boil. Simmer 2 minutes. Season.
5.Add mince, breadcrumbs, basil, 1 egg and remaining tomato paste to cooled onion mixture. Season and mix well. Shape level tbsp of mixture into balls.
6.In a jug, whisk remaining eggs with parmesan and add to pasta. Season and mix well. Divide pasta mixture among muffin holes, shaping into nests with indent in centre.
7.Spoon 1 tbsp tomato sauce into each nest. Push 3 meatballs into each and spoon over remaining sauce. Sprinkle with extra parmesan.
8.Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown around edges. Cool in pan 2 minutes, then loosen edges with a small sharp knife to remove. Top with extra basil and serve with salad.
This is a great way to use up leftover cooked spaghetti. For a cheats version use a 500 gram packet of ready-made meatballs and 1 ½ cups of store bough tomato based pasta sauce.
Note
