Zara McDermott Instagram – The PERFECT date night meal❤️🍝 authentic Italian spaghetti meatballs!😍 these are absolutely INSANE. super easy but they are one of the most flavoursome, delicious meals I’ve ever made 🍝 I wanted to film a fun recipe for valentines and I was inspired by Lady & The Tramp😂❤️
For the meatballs you need to start by soaking 4TBSP breadcrumbs in a splash of milk until it goes into a thick paste consistency.
Add to this an egg, 5 chopped basil leaves, 1tsp mixed herbs, 1/2tsp oregano, a large handful of grated Parmesan, salt, pepper and 2tsp whole grain mustard. Mix together but don’t overwork the mixture! Use 1 pack of beef mince, I use 20% fat but use whatever you want!
Divide these into meatballs of your size preference (remember they will shrink a bit) and then fry off until brown on all sides. Don’t worry about cooking them through, we will do this later 🙂
For the sauce I start by slicing 1/2 jarred red pepper, 4 sun-dried tomatoes, 1 small onion, 2 garlic cloves and frying on low heat for 5 mins! Then I add 1/2 tube tomato puree and mix. Then I turn the heat up and add 150ml white wine, and cook off for a minute. I then add 2 tins of tomatoes, I use plum tomatoes and then break down with my spatula.
I add a large handful of Parmesan, and then taste. If it’s a bit sharp, add 1-2tsp sugar. I also added 1tsp balsamic vinegar and 1tsp Worcester sauce. Add salt and pepper too and taste to check if you like it!
Add the meatballs back in, turn the heat down to low and cover for 20 minutes to cook through. Once the 20 min is over, remove the meatballs, remove 2tbsp sauce for later, and then add your al dente spaghetti. (I used about 300g dry).
Serve with LOTS of Parmesan and homemade garlic bread 🥰🍝❤️
This makes around 4 portions so you’ll have plenty left over 🤍🧑🏼🍳 #recipe #valentines #valentinesday #cooking #cookwithme | Posted on 13/Feb/2026 00:33:13
