Spaghetti and meatballs

This is a recipe from a lovely family cook book called Apples for Jam. I've seen quite a few recipe for meatballs recently. This one seemed as good as any, and was a good oppurtunity to try out the new book. I have to admit ours was actually pasta and meatballs rather than the specified spaghetti, as that's what we had in the larder!

Spaghetti and meatballs
Serves 4

Meatballs:
40-50g soft crustless white bread
4 tbsp milk
400 g minced pork and beef (I just used minced pork, and it was lovely)
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 small red onion
about 4 tbsp olive oil for frying

Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g tin tomatoes
torn basil leaves (I used a couple of tbsp fresh pesto instead, that needed using up)

350g spaghetti
30g butter
grated parmesan to serve

• For the meatballs, soak the bread in the milk in a small bowl, squishing it in your fingers so it breaks up completely.
• Put the mince in a large bowl with the herbs and spices, the bread mixture, and 1/2 tsp salt. Grate in the onion ( I grated mine in the food processor, else I find I cry too much!)
• Mix everything together thoroughly, kneading with your hands as though bread dough.
• Form into about 25 meatballs, about the size of small tomatoes, rolling between your palms so they are compact and smooth.
• Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan, and fry the meatballs. Recipe suggests in batches - however I managed fine doing them all together, though my frying pan is big.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic cloves, cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Then add the tomato and basil and simmer for 10 minutes. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon.
• When all the meatballs have been fried, add then to the tomato sauce and add about 250ml water. Simmer for 20 minutes.
• Cook the spaghetti is boiling salted water. When cooked, drain, and return to pan and toss the butter through.
• Serve the pasta in bowls, with a good ladleful of sauce and meatballs over the top, and sprinkle with grated parmesan.