Pasta with meatballs and tomatoes

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 slices of toast
• 100 ml whipped cream
• 3 spring onions (scallions)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 small chili peppers, hot, optional
• 6 stalks of basil
• 2 sprigs of parsley, or 1 tbsp dried
• 1 m.-sized egg(s)
• 500 g Thuringian Mett, fresh or pork Mett (ready seasoned by the butcher)
• n. B. Pfeffer
• possibly salt if needed
• 400 g date cherry tomatoes
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 400 g pasta, short (e.g. mini penne, rigate, casarecce, farfalle etc.)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 200 ml whipped cream
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

Italian Polpette – spicy and creamy

Remove the crust from the toast and cut into very small cubes. Mix with the cream in a larger bowl and let it soften. Wash and trim the spring onions, trimming the green parts (set aside for later). Quarter the white parts lengthwise and cut into fine strips. Finely chop the garlic cloves, deseed the chili peppers and finely chop them. Set half of both aside for the sauce. Wash the basil leaves and carefully pat dry. Set half aside and finely chop the other half. Wash the parsley, pat dry, and finely chop. Knead the toast, diced spring onions, garlic, chili, basil, parsley, the egg, the Thuringian Mett (a kind of ground beef), and the pepper well. Add salt sparingly, if at all, as the Mett (a kind of ground beef) is already salted. Form the mixture into small, walnut-sized balls. This makes about 30 balls. Rinse the tomatoes and drain in a sieve. Depending on the size, halve the pieces if necessary. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan and fry the meatballs vigorously on all sides. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Add the remaining garlic, chili, and tomato paste to the meatballs and fry briefly, then deglaze with 1-2 ladles (approximately 150 ml) of the boiling pasta water. Add the cream. Cover and simmer gently over a low heat for two to three minutes. Meanwhile, finely slice the green parts of the spring onion and the remaining basil leaves. Drain the pasta. Add the tomatoes to the meatballs and heat through for about a minute. Add the pasta, spring onions, and basil and mix everything carefully and thoroughly. Season to taste with pepper, a pinch of sugar, and salt if needed. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and serve immediately.