Leftover dumpling spaghetti and meatballs

TIME30 minutes MAKES3-4 PORTION
0.5x 1x 2x 3x

Whenever I make lamb dumplings, I always tend to have leftover dumpling filling. This is what I typically make with the leftovers — a spaghetti and meatballs-esque dish, that melds the north-eastern Chinese flavours of the meatballs with a typical Italian-style tomato sugo.

INGREDIENTS

  • 16 dumpling filling meatballs (I typically make quite small meatballs, around 2-3cm in diameter).
  • 1 onion (finely diced)
  • 3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 125ml red wine (optional)
  • 400g canned tomatoes (or fresh cherry tomatoes)
  • 125ml stock (optional)
  • 3 dried chillies
  • Herbs (such as oregano or bay leaves)
  • Spaghetti (or other pasta)
  • Salt (to taste)

STEPS

  1. In a stainless steel pan over medium heat, add olive oil and sear the meatballs on all sides until browned. These meatballs will likely be somewhat delicate, as they do not include traditional meatball starch filler such as breadcrumbs. Remove and place on a plate (they will likely still be under cooked in the middle — this is fine!).

  2. Over medium-low heat, fry the onion, garlic, and chilli flakes for a few minutes until softened. Make sure to scrape up the frond from the meatballs! Add the tomato paste and cook until darkened, another minute. Add the wine, and reduce au sec.

  3. Add the canned tomatoes, stock (or water), dried chillies, and herbs. Return the meatballs, and allow the sauce to simmer, cooking the meatballs, until the sauce has thickened and leaves a trail when stirred with a spoon.

  4. In a separate saucepan, boil the spaghetti in heavily salted water until al dente. Drain (reserving some of the pasta water), and return the dried spaghetti to the hot saucepan, as well as some of the tomato sugo and a splash of pasta water. Agitate to emulsify and coat the spaghetti.

  5. Distribute the spaghetti into warm bowls, and spoon over the meatballs and sauce. Optionally garnish with parmesan and other fresh herbs (such as coriander or parsley).

NOTES

Be conservative with the salt and taste as you go, as the dumpling filling is already quite salty due to the addition of salt and soy sauce when making the filling.

Related