Nothing beats a one pot meal. Whether you’re tired after a long day, busy with work or simply crave a bit more ease in your life, a one pot recipe means ease, convenience and most importantly, less dishes to clean after eating. What’s not to love about that?
If you have a nice looking soup pot or casserole, this dish is eaily taken from the hob to the table, looking beautiful when you present it to family or guests which makes it all the more desirable. If you have a pot that’s non-stick as well, I’d recommend using that as it makes frying the meatballs a little less tedious, but anything flame-proof that’s big enough with a lid will work. I would happily serve this dish straight from the pot for a casual dinner party with nothing more on the table than a side vegetable or a salad, some delicious bread and a nice bottle of wine. Even store-bought garlic bread would work beautifully here. Easy peasy!
If you enjoy drinking wine, I suggest using something you’d be happy to drink for the 60ml in the recipe and then you can enjoy the rest with dinner. Italian whites will work really well in this recipe. I love using a Soave Classico if you’re looking for a suggestion, but a nice Pinot Grigio could also work. Let’s get started!
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 400g pork sausages, skins removed
- 3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar & pestle
- 1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 250g orzo pasta
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 60ml dry white wine
- 500g passata
- 650ml water
- Salt & pepper
- 50g grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 25g unsalted butter
- Fresh basil leaves to serve (optional)
Method
- Put the sausage meat removed from the skins into a mixing bowl. Throw the skins away – you won’t be needing them. Add the crushed fennel seeds and chilli flakes and use your hands to mix everything together without overworking it too much. Once it’s just mixed, roll the mixture into little meatballs about the size of large grapes and set them on a plate.
- In a large pot or casserole that has a lid (preferably non-stick if you have one), heat half the olive oil over medium or medium-high heat. Fry the meatballs until browned on all sides. You will need to take care not to demolish them while also keeping them from sticking too much – I find using a wooden spatula or spoon to sort of push them around gently while very gingerly scraping underneath any that have stuck a bit to move them about the pan. The meatballs don’t contain bread crumbs or eggs, so be gentle and some of them might fall apart a little, but it’s ok. If you’re using a large non-stick soup pan it should help them to catch less on the bottom of the pan.
- When the meatballs are browned on all sides, remove them back to the plate and set aside.
- Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the garlic for a minute or two before adding the orzo to the pot. Stir to make sure all the orzo is incorporated and gets a little heat and oil – this should take just about a minute or two.
- Pour in the wine and increase the heat to high or medium-high to bring the wine to the boil. Use your wooden spoon to scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan and stir it all together. Leave the wine to reduce a bit as it bubbles away for a few minutes.
- Add the passata and use some of the 650ml of water to swish around the container to get all the dregs before pouring in the rest of the water. Stir to combine, add the meatballs back to the pot and season with salt & pepper. Bring the whole lot to a boil and then pop on the lid, reduce the heat to low and leave it to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once about halfway through.
- Remove the lid, stir everything and if necessary, adjust the seasoning. Cook uncovered for another two minutes or until the pasta is cooked to the texture of your liking.
- Finally, beat in the butter and the 50g of Parmesan cheese with a wooden until it’s all melted and incorporated.
- Serve hot in pasta bowls sprinkled with some more grated Parmesan cheese and torn fresh basil leaves scattered across the top.
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