Beef and ricotta meatballs with saucy tomatoes

Fantastically versatile and relatively inexpensive beef mince- whether its with spaghetti, or curried and snugly wrapped in a Roti or layered and saucy  in a lasagne- there's one thing I know, men love mince- it makes them happy.

That said,  you can never have enough recipes.........this one has a touch of sophistication with the ricotta cheese and you can roast a few cherry tomatoes to add to the tomato sauce if you're looking to impress.

Basically take 400 g mince and add 125/200 g ricotta cheese, 1 egg, salt and pepper. Make your little mince balls and flash fry to brown. Set them aside and make your tomato sauce.

Great tomato sauce recipe- 1 tin chopped tomatoes (roast cherry tomatoes or normal to add extra flavour), 1 onion, garlic, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 chilli, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, salt and pepper. Saute onion, garlic until aromatic and throw the rest in.

Add your meatballs and simmer gently until cooked. Make pretty, top with shredded basil and shavings of Pecorino cheese, chunks of bread to mop the sauce........don't forget the wine, any red should do nicely.