Leek noodles with meatballs à la mother-in-law

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 500 g minced meat, mixed
• 1 roll, old
• 1 egg(s)
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• salt and pepper
• 3 kg leek(s)
• 350 g pasta, e.g. spirelli
• Water
• 3 stock cubes, fatty stock for 1 1/2 liters of water
• salt and pepper
• Maggi, to taste

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

Make a meatball dough from the first ingredients by soaking the bread roll in a little warm water and then squeezing it out well. Finely chop the onion and add it to the minced meat along with the bread roll. Add the egg, salt, and pepper and knead well. Season to taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Then form 2 cm dumplings. I use a teaspoon as a measure; I got 40 with it. Then fry the balls in a little fat in a pan. When they are done, set them aside. Now cut the leek into 1 cm wide rings and wash them well. Meanwhile, heat salted water in a large pot. When the salted water boils, add the leek and cook for about 10 minutes. Then drain. Now add about 1 1/2 liters of water and the stock cubes to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the leek, meatballs, and pasta to the boiling water so that everything is covered. Stir well, making sure the meatballs stay intact, and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. After about 20 minutes, check whether the noodles are cooked, as this means the meal is ready. Season to taste with salt and pepper, or add a dash of Maggi if desired. Tip: When I fry meatballs, I make a portion of small meatballs at the same time and freeze them. This way I always have a small supply of meatballs for my leek noodles, which means less work. I need a 10-liter pot for this amount of leek noodles. Since we like it so much, I always cook a larger batch and then freeze it. The finished dish can then be easily reheated in the microwave.