Meatballs in red sauce

As I'm off there soon I thought I'd get this out there. Big love to all the Italian-Americans out there, and their wicked cuisine. Red sauce! Say what you see! See you on Mulberry Street...

Feeds 4

450g/1lb of your favourite pasta variety

Meatballs
500g/18oz minced beef or steak
100g/3 1/2oz matzo meal
20g/3/4oz Parmesan, grated
1 egg
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and black pepper
a splash of red wine
125ml/4fl oz/1/2 cup milk

Red sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 teaspoons tomato purée
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon caster sugar
a pinch of salt

For the meatballs, mix all the ingredients together except for the milk. Then add a little of the milk at a time until the mixture is moist and the meat sticks together (not too moist). Shape small amounts of meat into palm-sized balls and place on a lightly greased baking tray.
Bake in the oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 30 minutes, until they are evenly browned.

For the sauce, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat so that the sauce simmers uncovered for about 10 minutes.

When the meatballs are nearly cooked, start boiling the pasta. Remove the meatballs from the oven and place gently into the red sauce. Drain the pasta and serve with the meatballs and red sauce.