Sometimes the idea of a small golden brown and crisp-edged ball of meat seems preferable to a chunk of sausage. Removing the skin from bangers, (British sausage slang) and forming the meat inside into balls is easy enough to do, plus, it allows you an opportunity to add a few extras to oomph or spice up the flavour if you wish. For this I used Italian mild sausages, adding a rediscovered gem of an ingredient: fennel pollen. Only a small pinch is required but it really amps up the already aniseed-y fennel flavoured meat. I always fry my meatballs first to achieve those crisp edges, but I suspect many pillow like meatballs I have eaten were poached gently in some sort of liquid instead.
Recipe : Pork meatballs with pesto cream
This recipe produces a fairly dry pasta dish. If you'd like more of a wet sauce, you could double the cream and pesto quantities.
5 Italian mild sausages
a pinch of fennel pollen
a little paprika
1/2 large onion, chopped small
a handful of kale
a handful of peas, frozen or fresh
1 tbsp pesto
1/4 cup of cream
salt
pepper
spaghetti or tagliatelle for two
grated Parmesan to serve
Using a sharp knife, make a slit in each sausage skin and remove. Squeeze the meat into a bowl and add the fennel pollen and paprika. Mix well together with your hands. Form the meat into about 16 little meatballs, cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
To make the sauce, heat about 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the onion. Fry, stirring frequently until softened and translucent. Add the kale, peas, pesto and cream and fry gently until the kale has wilted and the sauce well combined. Season to taste.
Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the little meatballs until golden brown all over and cooked through. Keep warm.
Serve the meatballs over some pasta with the sauce poured over and fresh Parmesan sprinkled on top.
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