INGREDIENTS
(makes 24 serves 6 as tapas 3 or 4 as spaghetti and meatballs)
MEATBALLS
1lb (500kg) Beef Mince (not the extra lean)
2oz (50g) fresh breadcrumbs
An egg
2 teaspoons oregano or mixed herbs
A good pinch of salt
3 small mushrooms or some reconstituted TVP
Various seasonings*
SAUCE
3 medium sized onions
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 a red bullet chilli
Tin of tomatoes

Mix together thoroughly the mince, breadcrumbs, salt, herbs, other seasonings and egg. The aim is to get to the mixture to the consistency of sausagemeat. There are several ways to do this. Chop for a long time with a chinese cleaver, squeeze between your fingers for an even longer time, or use the K-whisk if a Kenwood Chef or similar. A food processor would work too but I haven't got one. Insufficient mixing at this stage will cause your meatballs to collapse when you come to cook them. You can mince some onions and garlic in now if you want but beware of having course lumps of anything that will break up the meat when it starts to cook. Personally I leave the garlic and onions for the sauce.

Chop the small mushrooms very finely and stir them in. There are not many places I would advocate using TVP but the mushrooms do much the same job of giving a bit of a different texture.

Put some oil a dish large enough to contain your meatballs in a single layer and heat it to 220C in the oven.

Divide the mixture into 24 and shape into balls. I coat the meatballs in flour at this stage. It provides a 'skin' and helps to hold them together. Take the dish out of the oven and drop the meatballs into it. Give them a bit of a shake so they are coated with oil and put bak into the oven for about 10 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking gently fry off the chopped onions in some olive oil and butter. They should not brown, just soften and clarify. Add the tin of tomatoes, the finely chopped chilli and thinly sliced garlic. I like my sauce to have bits in it, but if you want to, now is the time to liquidise the sauce.

When the meatballs are firm put them in the sauce and simmer covered for a further 10 minutes.

Serve hot or cold as tapas with some bread to dip up the sauce or on hot on pasta.

*All or some of these to taste...
Tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, Mustard, OXO cube.