Together Again: Spaghetti and Fishballs
Breaking the rules with fish meatballs
This week’s recipe thrills me. It’s obviously primarily inspired by spaghetti and meatballs, one of god’s great meals. But it’s also influenced by the gefilte fishcakes of my childhood and a dish from an old Ottolenghi cookbook, which I would often make to serve with mejadra.
Spaghetti and meatballs is always an attractive prospect, but I don’t always want to eat red meat. I do want to eat more fish, and so, I was happy to discover that spaghetti and fishballs is actually just as good.
Not many Ottolenghi recipes have ‘stayed with me’ over the years but there are a couple that did and one is his cod cakes in tomato sauce from Jerusalem. They were the first fishcakes I’d eaten submerged in a sauce, and it worked so well. Thanks to that recipe for giving me the confidence that this one would work.
These herb-flecked fishballs, or fish meatballs, have a satisfyingly meaty texture and they go so brilliantly with the tomato sauce, which is flavoured with warming nutmeg and fennel seeds. Use any firm white fish fillets you can get your hands on, and adjust the herbs to your taste too. I was quite #madforit when I ate this and I hope you will love it too. What else can be formed into balls and served on spaghetti, I wonder?
