Ingredients

Step by step

1. Put the breadcrumbs, milk and ricotta in a bowl and mix well. Set aside to soak for a couple of minutes. Add the egg, pork and beef mince, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper, then get your hands stuck in and mix everything together. Form the mixture into little balls – you want them to be quite small, so they can get a decent amount of caramelisation. Each meatball should weigh approximately 25g and you should have enough mixture to make about 30.

2. Set a large frying pan or sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add 3 tablespoons olive oil, then place the meatballs in the pan (you don’t want to overcrowd the pan, so do this in batches if needed). Cook, turning continuously, for about 10 minutes or until browned all over, then use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan onto a plate.

3. For the sauce, add the olive oil to the same pan and reduce to a medium heat. Cut the chilli in half but keep it attached at the stem (this makes it easier to remove later on). Add this to the pan along with the sliced garlic and basil sprig and fry until the garlic becomes fragrant and just starts to colour. Stir well to pick up all the lovely meatball flavours from the base of the pan. Stir in the tinned tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of well salted water to the boil for the pasta. Season the sauce to taste, return the meatballs to the pan and simmer over a medium-low heat while you cook the pasta.

4. Lower the bucatini into the boiling water and cook for 1 minute less than the pack instructions – it should be just under al dente at this point.

5. When the pasta is almost ready, use a slotted spoon to scoop the meatballs from the pan once again. Lift the pasta from the saucepan into the tomato sauce (tongs work well here) – some of the cooking water will naturally come with the pasta as you lift it. Mix well, allowing the pasta water to emulsify to create a glossy tomato sauce. Add half a ladleful of pasta water at a time until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.

6. Divide the pasta among shallow serving bowls, then top with the meatballs and spoon over more tomato sauce. Scatter over some extra basil leaves and some more grated cheese.