I’m really not good with Monday mornings. The only thing I can think about when lying in my comfy and warm bed is how not to go to work. With our shop, it’s quite flexible in the sense that…I can make Yuye go to work if I tried hard enough, but today I got out of bed. Mondays are usually my day off to visit my parents but today I gave him a day off. Aren’t I nice? 😛
It’s feeling much like mid Winter now. The fridges in the shop sends chills down my spine and more often than not, at the end of a day, my hands are frozen solid and I can hardly type on the keyboard. I try to wear gloves at work but I find they just get in the way.
On days like this, I really just crave for something hot and filling to warm up my insides.
One of my favourite spices is cumin. It does wonders when paired with meat and tends to bring out the natural fragrance of it and adds a strong delicious flavour that’s so complex. You just need a little bit of ground or seeded cumin to give your dish that kick. Somehow adding cumin to dishes also makes me warming.
A very easy and tasty dish we love making at home is this meatballs pasta. The meatballs of course is full of cumin goodness and a little surprise. We added a blob of cheese to it so when you bite into the meatball while it’s hot, gooey cheese will ooze out.
We actually used sausages to make the meatballs but you can definitely use mince. Pork mince is probably the best in this dish but beef, lamb or chicken can also be used.
Since it’s only May, I can feel a long hard Winter ahead of us. The only thing I’m looking forward to is the comfort food that inevitably comes with it, but it’s not enough to make me like Winter. Not at all…
- 300g good quality sausages (or 300g pork or beef mince)*
- Sprinkle of smoked paprika
- Pinch of chilli flakes (you can use more if you like it more chilli)
- Pinch of rosemary
- Pinch of dried oregano
- 1 tbsp of dried ground cumin
- 1 medium egg
- 1.5 cups of panko bread crumbs
- 50g tasty cheese (any cheese you like)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp more of smoked paprika and dried oregano for the sauce
- 1 400g tin tomatoes (whole peeled or diced)
- Handful of basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- Grated parmesan
- 250g dried spaghetti or other pasta
- Take off the skins of all the sausages.
- In a large bowl, mix together the sausages, pinches of dried herbs, cumin, egg and panko. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients in well. Make the mixture into balls. Push a small cube of cheese into the centre of each meatball and roll them until there are no cracks, set aside.**
- In a saucepan, add some olive oil and heat pan on medium high heat. Cook the meatballs on all sides until the outside is golden. Set aside.
- In the same saucepan on medium high heat, cook the diced onions and garlic until aromatic but not browned. Add in the can of tomatoes, remaining smoked paprika and dried oregano and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the meatballs into the pasta sauce and cook for a further few minutes. Stir in the basil leaves just before serving.
- In the mean time, in a medium pot, cook pasta according to packet instructions until al dente.
- Drain and split onto serving plates.
- Top pasta with the sauce along with grated cheese and more basil leaves.
- *The better the quality of sausage, the better your pasta will taste.
- **Cracks in the meatballs will leak cheese when you cook them so make sure the cracks are sealed.
Moica May 26, 2015, 11:32 pm
This looks fantastic. Using sausage is a great idea I have to try. This is certainly delicious with pasta and we’d love to use some of these meatballs to make a nice cheesy sub (sandwich) as well.
John/Kitchen Riffs May 27, 2015, 8:32 am
I love the idea of cumin meatballs! Terrific way to serve pasta. And Mondays? Who doesn’t hate them?
Dani @ House in Tillford May 27, 2015, 7:11 pm
Thats my thought process every work morning! At least having a delicious lunch like this would be a highlight of the day!