Pici verde with roast tomatoes and paprika meatballs

Step 1

To make the pasta, shake off any excess water from the spinach and put into a food processor with 300g/10½oz of the flour. Blend together until the spinach has completely broken down and formed a dough. You may need to push everything down the sides once or twice. Check the dough – if it is very sticky (this will depend on how wet your spinach is), add more flour. The best texture is soft and very slightly tacky.

Step 2

Roll out the pasta. Do this by pulling off small balls (around the size of a large marble). Start off by rolling between your hands then laying out on a work surface and rolling lightly with both hands, moving from the centre outwards. If it is very sticky, dust your hands with a little flour, but try not to use too much as it makes the pasta much harder to roll – it will slide away from you.

Step 3

The pasta can be cooked right away, in a large pan of boiling, salted water, or it can be dried out. If you are cooking from fresh, it will take five minutes; if it is dry, it will take 8-10 minutes.

Step 4

For the meatballs, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the onion. Cook on a medium to low heat until very soft and translucent, then add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute or two. Remove from the heat and cool.

Step 5

Put the beef and pork in a large bowl with the breadcrumbs, soured cream (or crème fraîche), two types of paprika, herbs and egg. Add the onion and garlic and season very generously. Mix thoroughly.

Step 6

Take a small amount of the mixture and fry it. When it is cooked, taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly – meatball mixture often needs more salt than you think. Form the mixture into 20 balls.

Step 7

To cook, either preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and bake for 18-20 minutes, turning them over halfway through, until well browned and piping hot in the centre. Or heat some oil in a large frying pan and cook them in two batches, turning regularly.

Step 8

For the roast tomatoes, lay the tomatoes in a roasting tin or ceramic ovenproof dish, cut-side up. Sprinkle with salt, thyme leaves, garlic and the olive oil, then roast for around 10 minutes, or until well softened and very slightly browned round the edges.

Step 9

Serve the meatballs and tomatoes with all the pan juices over the pasta, garnished with plenty of basil and grated parmesan.