It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Jamie Oliver. Not only does he have great taste in food, he’s passionate about making good food accessible to plebs like you and me.
I’ve recently come across his Ministry of Food series of free videos, where he shows you how to prepare a great dish in almost no time. Watching his “Spaghetti meatballs” video on the train home this afternoon, I was inspired to cook it up right away. Fortunately, our only other option was leftovers from the mixed grill on Monday night, so Flip was more than amenable.
Of course, I had to put my own spin on things, and they turned out awesome:
- I made the meatballs about two inches across, instead of Jamies “squashball” size. This meant that they took longer to cook, but it made them that much juicier.
- Added sliced mushrooms to the sauce. This pads out the sauce a bit, and I can’t imagine having pasta without mushrooms.
- Just prior to serving, I took some fresh bocconcini, ripped them into rough thirds and tossed them over the pasta. It’s a very soft cheese and melted into the food almost immediately. Gorgeous!
Although it took him less than 9 minutes from end to end, I probably took a total of 30 minutes from end to end, but I had bigger balls and his water was already boiling. Still a pretty good job for a quick weeknight meal.
How would you modify this and make it your own?