Make pasta and meatballs with dad

If you look beyond the fun of gifting Father’s Day is also a wonderful opportunity for dad to spend some time in the kitchen with the kids. Cooking up a storm (like classic pasta and meatballs!) is a great way to get them involved and to teach them about food.

Let’s make pasta and meatballs

This dish will serve 6. It takes a little effort, but your little chefs will love the end result – plus, you can take a few shortcuts, like using our ready-made beef meatballs instead.

For the tomato sauce:

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

200 g leeks, washed and roughly chopped

2 onions, roughly chopped

Salt to taste

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 fresh rosemary sprigs

1 cup white wine (optional*)

1 cup beef stock

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

800 g can whole peeled tomatoes, blended

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

(*If you omit the wine, just double the quantity of beef stock.)

For the meatballs:

3 slices white bread, crusts removed

1 cup milk

500 g lean beef mince

500 g pork mince

1 grated red onion

4 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped

50g finely grated Parmesan

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 tablespoons olive oil

For the pasta:

500 g tagliatelle pasta, cooked

Parmesan, for serving

Fresh basil, to garnish

To make the sauce:

1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and onions, and cook until soft, seasoning with salt. 2. Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme, and cook for 3 minutes, then pour in the wine. Reduce the wine by half, then add the beef stock, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with pepper. 3. Cook, covered, over a low heat for 45 minutes.

To make the meatballs:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Soak the bread in the milk. Squeeze out excess milk and place in a large bowl. Add the mince, onion, parsley and Parmesan and season to taste.

2. Mix together using your hands. Roll into 20 small balls or 15 larger ones.

3. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Brown the meatballs in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan.

4. Arrange the meatballs on a baking tray and finish in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Now, assemble the troops!

Place the pasta in a serving dish. Mix the meatballs and tomato sauce, and spoon over the pasta. Serve with Parmesan and garnish with basil.

Yum!

In a rush? Try our delicious Good stuff range of kids’ meals, a great way for the mom or dad on the run to get some yummy food into those little bellies:

SHOP MEALS FOR KIDS