Orders up

A friend of mine once told me this.

"The best way to test your baking or cooking is to give them to little children. They are usually more honest in their opinions."

Well, sometimes that's true...Kids will tell it straight to your face whether they like what you made. If they like it, they'll eat it and ask for seconds. If they don't, they'll voice their reasons. On other times, however, kids won't have enough experience to judge the food's texture or the good taste from the better. Furthermore, if your dish is 99% right but it doesn't suit their preferences...let's just say you'll have to swallow your pride and find another judge.

But one thing I noticed is that children know what food they want and when they want it. This week, my 7-year-old brother and 5-year-old sister requested for a batch of brownies and a lunch serving of meatballs spaghetti. It's pretty surprising to find that my younger siblings are more aware of food than I was when I was their age.

I'm still in search of a brownies recipe as the ones I tried was too sweet for my taste. But Jamie Oliver's meatballs spaghetti recipe is a keeper. His use of Jacob cream crackers instead of breadcrumbs especially intrigued me and I'm glad to find that they did not affect the taste of the meat.

The verdict? My brother and sister preferred the thicker, richer tomato sauce that I made last month but this dish was a winner among my parents and my teenage sisters :D I've put up the recipe for both sauces. Enjoy~

Jamie Oliver's
Meatballs Spaghetti
adapted from here
serves 4-6

For the Meatballs
Ingredients
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/2 an onion
12 Jacob's cream crackers
2 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
500g minced beef
1 heaped tbsp dried oregano
1 large egg
sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalks and finely chop them.
2. Place the crackers into a plastic bag and smash them up until fine.
3. Add to a large bowl along with the meat, mustard, onion, rosemary and oregano.
4. Crack an egg and add a good pinch of salt and pepper.
5. Mix them up well and roll into 24 balls.

For the sauce
Ingredients 
a bunch of fresh basil
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 x 400g tins of whole peeled tomatoes
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
seasoning: salt, black pepper, sugar, dried oregano+parsley

300g spaghetti
parmesan cheese, grated

Method

1. Pick the basil leaves and reserve the smaller ones for ganish.
2. Finely chop the onions and garlic.
3. Heat a large frying pan on medium heat and add 2 tbsp of olive oil.
4. Add the onions to the pan and cook until they are golden and wilted, around 7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic, and as soon as it starts to brown, stir in the large basil leaves.
6. Add the canned+fresh tomatoes and balsamic vinegar
7. Bring to a boil and season to taste with salt, black pepper, sugar and dried herbs.

Bringing it all together

1. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
2. Heat oil in another frying pan and add the meatballs.
3. Stir and cook them until they are golden, around 8-10 minutes.
4. Add the meatballs into the sauce and simmer until the pasta is ready.
5. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.
6. Sprinkle the reserved basil leaves and some grated parmesan.

Tomato Sauce II

Ingredients
olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
150g tomato paste
4 fresh tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tbsp each dried basil+parsley
1 tbsp sugar

salt & black pepper, to taste 

Method

1. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry onions until golden and wilted.
2. Add the tomato paste and diced tomatoes.
3. Add the dried herbs, sugar, salt and black pepper.
   
4. Bring to a boil and simmer until sauce thickens.