Mini Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 500g pork and beef mince mix
• 1 egg, beaten
• 40g breadcrumbs
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 30g Parmesan, finely grated
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 200ml hot vegetable stock
• 0.5 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 crusty bread rolls, warmed

Method

1. Tip the red lentils into a small pan with 200ml water, bring to a simmer and cook for 18 to 20 minutes until completely soft and collapsing. Drain off any remaining liquid and let them cool for a few minutes — they should mash easily under the back of a spoon. This is what keeps the meatballs tender rather than tight.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mince, cooled lentils, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, egg, grated garlic, oregano, and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper — season firmly now, because under-seasoned meatballs taste flat no matter how good the sauce is. Mix with your hands until evenly bound, then roll heaped teaspoons into about 32 mini meatballs, keeping them small so they cook through quickly and feel child-sized.
3. Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in a large casserole or deep frying pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in two batches, turning often until deeply coloured all over, about 4 minutes per batch. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the pan steams instead of sears, and you lose the brown crust that flavours the sauce. Lift them out to a plate.
4. Drop the heat to medium, add the remaining oil, then soften the onion and carrot with a pinch of salt for 8 to 10 minutes until sweet, translucent, and just starting to catch at the edges. Stir in the grated garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant — no longer. Burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter and there's no rescuing it. Add the tomato puree and cook for another 90 seconds, stirring, until it darkens a shade and smells jammy rather than raw.
5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, the hot vegetable stock, and the sugar — the stock is what breaks the tomatoes down into proper sauce rather than leaving them tasting of heated tin. Scrape up any browned bits stuck to the base; that's pure flavour. Simmer gently for 10 minutes until slightly reduced and glossy.
6. Slide the meatballs and any resting juices back in, partly cover with a lid, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring gently now and then so they hold their shape. They're done when cooked through and the sauce coats the back of a spoon without running off in a flood.
7. Taste, season, taste again. Adjust the salt and pepper now — at the end, not at the table. The sauce should be mild, gently sweet, and deeply tomatoey rather than sharp or watery; another pinch of sugar if it bites, another pinch of salt if it falls flat.
8. Spoon the meatballs and sauce into shallow bowls, scatter the chopped parsley generously over the top, and tuck a warm crusty roll alongside each bowl for dunking.