SAUCE IN ITALIAN RECIPES

Steps:

• To make the meatballs, cut the top off the onion, peel off the skin and the first two layers (this gets rid of any tough bits). Grate the onion on the coarse side of a box grater then squeeze out the excess juice. Measure 3 tbsp of the squeezed onion into a bowl.
• Add the rest of the ingredients with a good grind of black pepper, then use clean hands to mix everything together really well. Form into 24 meatballs and chill for at least 20 minutes or until you want to cook them.
• Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large, deep, lidded frying pan or shallow casserole. Add the meatballs in batches and cook, turning, until browned all over. Once browned, scoop out onto a plate.
• To make the sauce, add the garlic to the same pan with a little more oil, if needed, and gently sizzle for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, vinegar and sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes until thickened, then add the meatballs with the olives and capers. Stir and simmer with a lid on for another 20 minutes then season and stir in half the basil.
• Heat the grill to medium. Dot pieces of the mozzarella all over the pan then slide under the grill and cook until the cheese has melted. Scatter over extra basil to finish, and serve with rigatoni and crusty bread.

Steps:

• 1. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick the basil leaves and tear into pieces.
  2. Place a large non-stick frying pan on the heat and pour in 4 generous lugs of olive oil. Add the garlic, shake the pan around a bit and, once the garlic begins to colour lightly, add the basil and the tomatoes. Using the back of a wooden spoon, mush and squash the tomatoes as much as you can.
  3. Season the sauce with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove the pan from the heat.
  4. Strain the sauce through a coarse sieve into a bowl, using your wooden spoon to push any larger bits of tomato through. Discard the basil and garlic that will be left in the sieve, but make sure you scrape any of the tomatoey goodness off the back of the sieve into the bowl.
  5. Pour the sauce back into the pan, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes to concentrate the flavours. It will be ready when it’s the perfect consistency for spreading on your pizza.
  6. Store the sauce in a clean jar in the fridge – it’ll keep for a week or so.