Meatball Preparation

• Soak the Bread: Cube the bread into small pieces. Place into milk and let soak while you prep the rest.
• Drain & Combine: Once soaked, squeeze out excess milk from the bread using your hands.
• Mix the Meatballs: In a mixing bowl, combine ground pork, beaten egg, chopped parsley leaves, parmesan shavings, soaked bread, salt and pepper.
• Shape & Chill: Mix until homogenous and shape into small meatballs. Let them chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
• Test the Seasoning: Pan-fry a small patty to taste. Adjust salt or pepper in the remaining mixture if needed.
• Sear the Meatballs: In a hot pan with olive oil, sear the meatballs until browned all over (they don’t need to be fully cooked). Remove from the pan and set aside.

Tomato Sauce

• Start the Base: In the same pan, add more olive oil along with crushed garlic cloves.
• Build the Sauce: Once fragrant, pour in the passata and add basil leaves. Let it come to a gentle simmer.
• Simmer with Meatballs: Add the seared meatballs back in. Cover and let cook on low heat for at least 1 hour.

Final Dish

• Cook the Pasta: Boil the spaghetti or bigoli in salted water until al dente. Reserve some pasta water before draining.
• Emulsify the Sauce: Remove meatballs from the sauce. Add cooked pasta into the sauce and emulsify with a splash of pasta water.
• To Serve: Plate a generous mountain of pasta, top with meatballs, and finish with a shaving of parmesan.