Double Pork Stuffed Pork Roast

Double Pork Stuffed Pork Roast is pork belly with crackling, stuffed with two pork tenderloins and sausage stuffing made with ground pork and Italian sausage. It's a feast of a beast, perfect for a huge family meal. Best of all, the leftovers make fabulous sandwiches.

This week our Sunday Supper tastemakers are sharing their favorite meal ideas for Mother's Day. I made this double pork stuffed pork roast for my mom a while back and she actually took these photos. I can promise you that this was one of her favorite meals, especially the leftovers, which she used to make pork roast sandwiches, slathered in mayo. Another of her favorite things.

I'm not going to give specific weight amounts for his double pork stuffed pork roast since the size of your half pork belly and fillets will vary by the size of the pig. Likewise, if you have a favorite stuffing recipe, you can certainly use it instead. I will tell you that the total weight of all the meat for my double pork stuffed pork roast was about 10 pounds or 4.5kg.

Ready to make this double pork stuffed pork roast? Let's go!

Ingredients
1 half pork belly, skin intact
2 pork fillets
About 2 lbs or 1kg pork stuffing
Sea salt flakes (like Maldon)
Fresh ground black pepper

For the stuffing:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb or 450g fresh hot Italian sausage
1 lb or 450g ground pork
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
Cayenne
1 cup or 60g fresh bread crumbs

Method
Sauté the onion, bell pepper and garlic in the olive oil, until they are just softened. Set aside to cool.

Remove the Italian sausage from the casing and mix it together with the ground pork. Add in the cooled vegetables and bread crumbs and mix thoroughly. Add a sprinkle of salt, (keeping in the mind that there is already salt in the Italian sausage) a good couple of grinds of black pepper and a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, depending on how much spice your family likes. Mix well and fry a teaspoon of the mixture till cooked through, to taste. Add more salt and pepper, if necessary.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Start with the pork belly laying it flat on a cutting board and score the skin diagonally both ways so the pieces can crisp in the oven. The crackling is divine!

Turn the belly over and spread it with the stuffing mixture. Lay the two fillets of pork in the middle, fat ends alternating, top to tail. Sprinkle each with some salt, black pepper and cayenne.

Then tie the whole thing in a roast-like shape, using baking twine or silicone bands. 

Rub it liberally with sea salt and a good couple of grinds of black pepper.

Pop it in the preheated oven, lowering the temperature after 30 minutes to 300°F or 150°C. Cook for around three hours or until your thermometer registers 150°F or 65°C. (The safe internal temperature when ground pork is included in a recipe vs. a solid pork roast is 160°F or 72°C. The temperature will continue to rise as you let the roast rest.)

Let it rest, covered with a tent of foil for 10 minutes while you make the gravy from the pan drippings. (You may have to spoon off a lot of the grease first.)

Enjoy!

What are you Mother's Day plans? How about making something special for your mom? Check out this great list of dishes from our Sunday Supper tastemakers. Many thanks to our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections and our event host, Amy from My World Simplified.

Sunday Supper Mother's Day Food Ideas

Chocolate Treats

• Hot Fudge Ice Cream Cake by Pies and Plots
• Toasted Almond Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies by Helpful Homemade
• Triple Chocolate Strawberry Cake Truffles by The Freshman Cook
• White Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• White Chocolate-Filled Snickerdoodles by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes

Entrees

• Double Pork Stuffed Pork Roast by Food Lust People Love
• Italian Stuffed Caprese Chicken by My World Simplified
• Japanese Chicken Curry by What Smells So Good?
• Lightened-Up Shrimp Scampi by My Savory Spoon

Sides and Salads

• Mom’s Easy Clam Dip by Cricket’s Confections
• Salmon and Capers Panzanella Salad by And She Cooks
• Swedish Creamy Potato Casserole (Jansson’s Frestelse) by Sunday Supper Movement

Sweets

• Berry Chantilly Trifle by The Crumby Cupcake
• Blackberry Cobbler with Brown Sugar Pecan Biscuits by Soulfully Made
• Lemon Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries by Our Good Life
• Lemon Cooler by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Mom’s Southwest Georgia Pound Cake by Family Around The Table
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp by Caroline’s Cooking
• Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote by Wholistic Woman

Sausage Apple Onion Tart #FridayPieDay

The apples and sausages go together beautifully, as pork and apples are wont to do, with the lovely added flavor of baked onions, in a crisp, golden puff pastry crust.  

The beauty of pies and tarts is that they can be sweet or savory. If you aren’t much of a dessert person, you can still enjoy a delicious pie, just add some sausage or salami. This month’s Friday Pie Day tart makes the perfect brunch, lunch or dinner fare and the ingredients are easily changed out for whatever you might have on hand.

I started by making my rough puff pastry recipe, or rather, I should say, Gordon Ramsey’s rough puff pastry recipe, cut off a little more than half and wrapped up the rest and popped it in the freezer. If you haven’t attempted rough puff before, I recommend you try it. It’s easy and way less work that actual puff pastry. In a pinch, of course, you can use store-bought puff pastry.

Ingredients
1 green apple (for example, Granny Smith)
2 teaspoons canola or other light oil
2 medium purple onions
6 fat sausages (about 14 oz or 400g)
A few fresh tender sprigs thyme – or leaves off of older sprigs
12 1/3 oz or 350g rough puff pastry dough from this recipe
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with baking parchment or a silicone liner.

Cut the apple in half, core it and cut it into thin slices, discarding the very end pieces that are all peel. Toss the apple slices in a medium sized bowl, with the oil to stop them turning brown.

Peel the onions, cut them in half and then slices them into thin wedges.

Toss them in the bowl with the apples.

Add the thyme sprigs, ripped into smaller pieces.

Cut the sausages into bite-sized pieces with a sharp knife of a pair of scissors. Mix the pieces in with the apples and onions.

Roll out your rough puff pastry into a large rectangle and trim the edges to make sure it will puff up successfully.

Gently score a line all the way around the inside with the tip of a sharp knife. This will be your puffy, crunchy crust, so don’t be skimpy with the margin.

Spread your mustard all over inside the scored line.

Tip the sausage, apple and onion onto the pastry and arrange it as evenly as possible all the way out to the scored line.

It's a pretty tall pile but it will bake down, I promise.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden and the sausage pieces are cooked through.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting.

Enjoy!

This sausage apple onion tart is my contribution to this month's Friday Pie Day, the brilliant creation of Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen. (Formerly girlichef.)

I am pleased to join her on the last Friday of each month for pie and crust recipes, techniques, tools of the trade, and other inspiration.

For more information and recipes, please check out her #FridayPieDay page!

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Cocktail Sausages

If you are looking for an easy appetizer that will disappear in record time, may I suggest these sweet and spicy bacon cocktail sausages! With chili sauce and bacon wrapped around little sausages they are then topped with brown sugar and baked till sticky.

This recipe is easily doubled or trebled. The only limiting parameter is the size of your baking pan because you don’t want to crowd them in too tightly or the bacon won’t get crispy. I was home alone so I just made a dozen. At a time. Ahem. The photos you see here are actually batch number two. The package of cocktail sausages was 300g so it didn’t take me long to get through them all. It is hard to resist these sweet and spicy bacon-wrapped morsels once you've tried them the first time.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Cocktail Sausages

An easy but delicious appetizer with bacon, cocktail sausages and chili sauce. These are highly addictive. Be warned.

Ingredients
1 dozen or about 90-100g cocktail sausages
2-3 tablespoons extra hot chili sauce (We love ABC brand from Indonesia.)
4 thin slices or rashers streaky bacon
2-3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

For serving: extra chili sauce for dipping, if desired

Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C.

Put your bacon slices between two pieces of cling film and gently roll them out with a rolling pin from end to end. You can do a couple of slices at a time. This will stretch them so that they are even thinner so each little sausage can still be rolled in bacon twice around but it will still bake up crispy.

Cut each slice of bacon into thirds.

Smear a little chili sauce on one end of each piece of bacon. Roll them around the cocktail sausages and secure with a toothpick or, if you are feeling fancy, call them cocktail sticks.

Lay them out in a big baking pan and sprinkle on half the brown sugar.

Bake for six or seven minutes and then remove from the oven. Turn the sausages over and sprinkle on the balance of the brown sugar.

Cook for about six to seven minutes more or until the bacon looks crispy enough for your liking.

Remove from the pan and rest them briefly on paper towels to drain the fat away. I tend to use one sheet of paper towel (so the newsprint doesn’t get on the food) with newspaper underneath.

Serve with extra chili sauce for dipping, if desired. It’s a must at our house.

Enjoy!

You try to take photos without snitching one!  Can't be done. 

Sausage Rolls

Sausage rolls are a British classic: well-seasoned ground pork, rolled in puff pastry then cut into lengths and baked till golden brown.

Meeting my soon-to-be in-laws
We had been friends for more than two years, dating for a year and a half and were engaged for a few months when I finally had the opportunity to meet my husband’s father and stepmom, Alan and Fiona.  This was back in 1985 so I was still in school in Austin, Texas, they lived in Freeport on Grand Bahama and their son was working on a drilling rig somewhere offshore in Asia.  So, logistically, it just hadn’t happened.  The long weekend for US Thanksgiving was our first chance.

Simon and I flew out to Fort Lauderdale and they met us at the airport. The details are blurry now but we set off for Publix supermarket for a shopping run and before I knew it, we were stowing a turkey and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast in the back of the tiniest plane I’d ever flown in.

While Simon, Fiona and I loaded up, Alan walked around the Cessna 337, Super Skymaster, doing his preflight check. And then, suddenly, we were up in the air, high over the gorgeous deep blue Atlantic Ocean and on our way to the Bahamas.  Just as casually as I would have driven my car home to Mom’s.

I had never known anyone personally who could fly, not to mention own his own airplane!  I thought my father-in-law was a dashing gentleman and the weekend (and the years that followed) confirmed that first impression.

This one's from a flight simulator website but I hope to scan and upload one of the actual plane soon.
One more summer project that didn't get done. 

The English CAN cook
No less of a revelation was the good, simple, tasty cooking that was the hallmark of Fiona’s repertoire.  Don’t let folks tell you that the English can’t cook.  Her roast potatoes were crispy spuds of legend.  Her superlative gravy was a worthy beverage.  Both breakfast and lunch always included fresh, homemade whole wheat loaves that Fiona turned out with regular, delicious consistency, setting them first to proof on top of the hot water heater in their comfortable, homey apartment.  And her sausage rolls, nicknamed the Bishop’s sausage rolls because he requested them specially whenever he visited from Nassau, were a must at every party.

I made these a while back for the party where we celebrated the wonderful life of my other father-in-law, Simon’s stepdad. This isn’t Fiona’s recipe because I thought it was lost to me forever when she passed away in 2001, but it’s my closest approximation of how I remember them, except, perhaps Fiona made a short crust pastry.  My sister-in-law says she has the real recipe so someday soon, I might visit these again.  Meanwhile, since my sausage rolls use store-bought puff pastry, you can get these in and out of the oven in time to take them to a Labor Day party.  Or any party, especially if a bishop has been invited.  Or you have someone or something to celebrate.  They go spectacularly well with Champagne, wine or an ice cold beer.

Ingredients
1/2 medium onion
1/2 teaspoon Herbs of Provence
Olive oil
16 oz or 490g ground pork
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1/2 cup or 25g fresh bread crumbs
1 package 16 oz or 490g puff pastry
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Mince your onion and sauté it in pan with the herbs and a drizzle of olive oil.   When the onion is soft and translucent, remove from heat and allow to cool.

Mix the pork with the bread crumbs and the cooled onions, salt and cayenne, if using, and set aside.  It’s messy but I’ve found the best way is first with a wooden spoon and then with your clean hands.

Whisk your eggs together with the milk in a small bowl and set aside.

Roll out the puff pastry into a very large rectangle until it is about 1/4 inch or 1/2 cm thick.

Cut the rectangle evenly into three long pieces.

Lay a third of the meat mixture all along each of the strips of puff pastry lengthwise, making sure to go all the way to the very ends.  You don’t want the end bits to be short on sausage.

Brush the inside of the pastry with the egg/milk mixture.

Roll it up to enclose the filling.  Make sure to leave the seam side down.

Using a serrated knife and a slight sawing motion, cut the long tubes into short rolls.  Since I was serving them as finger food, I cut them pretty small to make 35 bite-sized sausage rolls.

Arrange them in a baking pan, allowing room for the puff pastry to puff and brush the tops with more of the egg wash.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the meat is cooked and the pastry is lovely and golden.

Remove to paper towels to allow any grease to be absorbed and then serve hot.  Or, frankly, room temperature.  I’d eat these either way.

Enjoy!

This week Sunday Supper is celebrating Labor Day in the United States by preparing weekend party foods for picnics and tailgating and just hanging out with friends and family. Have a look at all the delicious drinks and dishes we’ve prepared for you, along with our host, DB of Crazy Foodie Stunts.

Refreshing Drinks

• Cherry Bourbon Lemonade from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Hibiscus Flower Margaritas from La Cocina de Leslie
• Mint Sweet Tea from Supper for a Steal
• Pineapple Soda Floats from Healthy. Delicious.

Amazing Appetizers and Sides

• Caprese Tortellini Salad from Webicurean
• Caramelized Onion Relish from What Smells So Good?
• Chorizo and Cheese Jalapeno Poppers from I Run For Wine
• Cucumber Cups from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Deviled Eggs Stuffed With Garlic Guacamole from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Grilled Corn Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing from girlichef
• Grilled Peach Salad from Curious Cuisiniere
• Hatch, Chive & Chevre Figs from Shockingly Delicious
• Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob from The Urban Mrs
• Peach Salsa Nachos from Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Sausage Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Spiced Honey Peach Muffins from Mess Makes Food
• Spicy Bacon Popcorn from Nik Snacks
• Strawberry and Chicken Pasta Salad from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Stuffed Baby Sweet Pepper from Country Girl In The Village

Enviously Good Entreés

• Beer Brined BBQ Chicken from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Deluxe Pizza Burgers from Foxes Love Lemons
• Grilled Herb Shrimp With Chimichurri Sauce from Magnolia Days
• Grilled Italian Turkey Burgers from Table for Seven
• Grilled Swordfish Kabobs with Sun-Dried Tomato & Olive Salsa from La Bella Vita Cucina
• Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Skewers with Homemade Teriyaki from Juanita’s Cocina
• Kansas City Barbecued Spare Ribs from The Texan New Yorker
• Proscuitto & Spinach Macaroni and Cheese from Family Foodie
• Red Wine Burgers with Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese from Neighborfood
• Red, White & Blue Spicy Burgers from Daily Dish Recipes
• Spicy Sea Scallop Skewers with Mint Yoghurt Sauce from Soni’s Food
• Stir-Fry Rice with Turkey Bacon and Eggs from Basic N Delicious
• Tropical Shrimp Kabobs from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
  

Delicious Desserts

• Caramel Brownies from Pies and Plots
• Egg Free Chocolate Mousse from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Fresh Raspberry Bran Muffins from Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Ice Cream Granola Truffles from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Old-Fashioned Pineapple Up-Side-Down Cake from The Foodie Army Wife
• Peach Cheesecake Crumb Bars from Chocolate Moosey
• Peach Kuchen {#Dairyfree} from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• Peanut Butter Cream Pie with a Pretzel Crust from Cookin’ Mimi
• Peanut Butter Vegan Dreams from Ninja Baking
• Raspberry Lime Cupcakes from Treats & Trinkets
• Red, White & Blue Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Dip Trio from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Red, White & Blue Jello Parfaits from In The Kitchen With KP
• Richest Ever Chocolate Pound Cake with an Orange Ganache from Eat, Move, Shine
• S’mores Brownies from Alida’s Kitchen
• Strawberries with Red Wine Reduction and Whipped Cream from Crazy Foodie Stunts
• Summer Berry Chocolate Cake from Happy Baking Days

One-Pan Full English Fry-up

Full English Fry-up is a quick, easy and delicious one-pan breakfast that includes all the traditional parts - bacon, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms and eggs.

Years ago, I was watching a Jamie Oliver show – one of his very first ones from the era of his second published cookbook – and he was working all night in a friend’s restaurant, baking the bread for the next day.  After putting in some long, hot hours, he started a one-pan fry-up.  It reminded me of our very late dinners (or very early breakfasts) back in Abu Dhabi.  As I mentioned way back in January, we often cooked a full English breakfast at the end of a night out.  It is indeed a delight after a long night out, but they are equally tasty earlier in the evening as an alternative dinner.

We often have breakfast for dinner and the rest of the family would like pancakes or waffles, and I mostly give in, but this would be my choice every time.

A genuine full English breakfast would also include black pudding, but my local grocery store was out of stock, and baked beans, which are not my favorite.  If my elder daughter and/or husband were in residence, I would have had to add the Heinz baked beans.  They have to be Heinz.  Just so you know.

Also, I’ve made enough for two diners but, in this same pan, I’ve added bacon and sausages enough for four and still have room for four eggs.  Double either the mushrooms or tomatoes (not both) and you’ll be fine.

Ingredients to serve two
2 medium tomatoes
4 medium brown mushrooms
2 rashers or slices back bacon
2 good quality English sausages
Olive oil
2 fresh eggs
Sea salt
Black pepper
Bread for toast, and butter, if desired.

Method
Cut off the stem end of your tomatoes and then cut them in half through the middle, so you see a cross section of the tomato.  Clean your mushrooms and trim the hard stems.

Add your bacon and sausage to a large non-stick skillet.  Cook until the bacon and sausage are both browned.

Drizzle in a little olive oil if the bacon and sausage haven't given off any grease and add in the halved tomatoes, cut side down, and mushrooms and cook until they are also browned and roasty looking. Then turn them over to brown the other side.

Arrange the bacon, sausage, tomato halves and mushrooms evenly around the pan and make spaces for frying your eggs.

Put your bread in the toaster, if serving.

Crack one egg at a time in a small bowl and gently add each to the pan.

Push the button down on the toaster.  Cook your eggs until they are the doneness you desire.  We like runny yellows, so this doesn’t take but a few minutes.  Season the eggs with sea salt and pepper.

Remove the toast from the toaster and butter, if desired.  Serve each person bacon, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, an egg and toast.


Enjoy!

If you love breakfast for dinner like we do, you’ll want to have a look at all the other lovely Sunday Supper dishes this week.  Breakfast for dinner is the best!

• Almond Rice Crepes Stuffed With Sweet Potatoes & Peas from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Apple, Bacon, and Dubliner Cheese Stuffed French Toast from Neighborfood
• Bacon ‘n Eggs Bread Pudding from gotta get baked
• Bacon & Brie Potato Bread Strata with Roasted Pears from Eat, Move, Shine
• Bacon and Egg Waffles from The Urban Mrs
• Bacon Egg and Potato Breakfast Tacos from Cookin’ Mimi
• Bacon, Spinach and Tomato Breakfast Pizza from Runner’s Tales
• Baked Berry French Toast from Table For Seven
• Banana Waffles with Peanut Butter Syrup from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Basic Vegan Waffles from KillerBunnies, Inc
• Breakfast Bowls from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Copycat Japanese McDonald’s from Ninja Baking
• Cream Dried Beef and Waffles from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Crumpets with Whipped Orange Honey from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Crustless Spinach Quiche from The Hand That Rocks The Ladle
• Dark Chocolate, Orange & Pistachio Greek Yogurt Cups from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Denver Breakfast Ring from Curious Cuisiniere
• Dulce de Leche Stuffed French Toast from Basic N Delicious
• Elderberry Flower Pancakes from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Florentine Benedict from Supper for a Steal
• Gluten Free Breakfast Pizza from Blueberries And Blessings
• Greek Frittata from Casa de Crews
• Homemade Lox from Growing Up Gabel
• Italian Turkey Meatballs (With a Secret) from What Smells So Good?
• Joe’s Special, the Original San Francisco Treat from  target="_blank"Webicurean
• Kale, Bacon, Brown Rice Crustless Quiche from Shockingly Delicious
• Leek, Mushroom and Gruyère Quiche from H target="_blank"ip Foodie Mom
• Oatmeal Ice Cream from Treats & Trinkets
• One Pan Full English Fry-up from Food Lust People Love
• Open Faced BTC Sandwich from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Prosciutto, Gorgonzola and Rosemary Strata from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Red Pepper and Egg Galette from Healthy. Delicious.
• Saucy Ham and Cheese Breakfast Sliders from Daily Dish Recipes
• Sausage breakfast casserole from My cute bride
• Seattle Sandwiches (Lox, Shmear, & A Fried Egg) from Juanita’s Cocina
• Sour Cherry Crisp from Pies and Plots
• Steak & Egg Bagel Sandwich from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
• Steak and Egg Tostadas from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Tres Leches Pancakes from La Cocina de Leslie
• Waffles – One Plate, Two Ways: Sweet & Savory from Foxes Love Lemons
• Zucchini Pancakes with Sautéed Tomatoes and Feta from  target="_blank"Ruffles & Truffles

Pin this One-Pan Full English Fry-Up!

How to Make Easy Meatballs à la Jamie Oliver

Got sausage? Make meatballs easily!
I love meatballs in sauce but who has time to mix and roll the meat? I learned this method of how to make easy meatballs on an old Jamie Oliver show that I can't seem to find a clip of for you, so this is my quick take, with an updated video. If you've been reading along here, you know I'm in Dubai now, but I didn't have the heart to delete my old introduction. It's part of my journey.

 

Last summer when I was in Houston and feeling pretty smug about farmers’ markets and pastured meat and eggs, I made meatballs and spaghetti for my aged grandmother. Because she loves it. Here I am in Cairo and I have been the worst of the worst type of modern shopper. I came back from a visit to the States, to Providence, with almost 42 pounds of pork in my suitcases. Not only were they not sourced locally, clearly, I am also pretty sure that they were not from pastured pigs, seeing as how I bought them at a Super Walmart.

Philosophically speaking, there is no justifying such excess. Emotionally speaking, I am feeling deprived in Cairo. Of close friends, a school connection, normal day-to-day activities, driving my own car, imported (read: good) wine at the grocery store and pork. Among other things. Self pity: It’s how I justify hauling pork products across international borders.

And cooking them is how I make myself feel better when I am headed towards down. There is nothing quite like a bowl of pasta and meatballs in a rich tomato sauce to cheer a person up. Don’t you agree? Unless it is a simmering pot of rich tomato sauce bubbling on the stove and filling the whole house with spicy Italian aromas. This recipe fills the need on both counts.

(On the other hand, all of my vegetables, beef and chicken are locally sourced. And I do believe most of the fish is too. My Carrefour doesn’t really sell many imported things in the fresh departments so choices and prices are seasonal. Just two examples: I haven’t seen a single non-frozen corn on the cob since I moved here. And I am sorely missing rhubarb, which must not be grown here, even in the spring. I am guessing because we never have a freeze in winter. )

This method of meatballing (though not the sauce) comes straight from Jamie Oliver and, if you have access to fresh sausage in casing, is the fastest, easiest method of making meatballs that I have ever witnessed. You know how you see something on TV or in a magazine (or Pinterest!) and you say, “Now, why didn’t I think of that?!!” Exactly my reaction when I watched Jamie make these meatballs for the first time, back in 2008.

Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs or about 565g fresh sausage – I like spicy Italian sausage.
Olive oil
1 small onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 can (14 oz or 400g) finely chopped or crushed tomatoes
1 small can (6 oz or 165g) tomato paste – the really thick stuff, not sauce
1 heaped tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon sugar
1 bay leaf
12 oz or 340g pasta of your choice
Parmesan for serving (optional)

Method
Pinch off little pieces of sausage from the casing and pop them in a non-stick skillet. (I tried to find a clip from the Jamie show with him doing it but to no avail. So you are stuck with me.) I pinched off small pieces and finished with 42 bite-sized meatballs. Yes. I counted them before they went in the sauce. (Forty in the pan plus the two I had already eaten.)

Fry them until browned nicely on all sides, shaking the pan occasionally to turn them.




Wasn't that quick? Meatballs in minutes. When your meatballs are cooked, you can drain them on some paper towels or do it my way: Tilt the skillet and push the meatballs up the slope so the grease can collect in one side of the skillet. This saves paper towels, possible clean up of one more dish and one step in the sauce process.



(At this point, your meatballs are finished and would be great as appetizers with a toothpick and dipping sauce. Or made into Swedish meatballs or added to an Italian Wedding Soup or whatever your heart desires. Or you carry on and make the tomato sauce I love.)

Still with me? Okay! Chop your onions and garlic. Sauté them in a drizzle of olive oil, until they are soft and translucent.

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Add in the can of crushed tomatoes and one can of water.



Add in the can of tomato paste and one can of water. Stir really well until the tomato paste is completely dissolved into the sauce.



Now, add the sugar, oregano and bay leaf. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer.



Add in the cooked meatballs and then simmer the sauce with a lid on, for at least 30 minutes but for as long as an hour or two, if you have the time. My motto for tomato sauce is the longer the better. Give it a stir and check the level periodically, adding some water, if necessary, to keep it at a thickness and consistency you like.



Be careful here so your meatballs don't end up back in the grease.



When you are ready to serve, cook your pasta according to package instructions. With a side vegetable, this should serve four people. Just don’t let your sauce cook down too much or the pasta could be dry.



Top the pasta with sauce and count your meatballs out fairly among the plates. We also add a generous fresh grating of Parmesan. (Not pictured.)



With whole wheat penne! Enjoy!