This was gorgeous! One satisfied boyfriend! The cloves made a big difference (even if I did forget to take them out!)...added some Lea n Perrins into the sauce and Branston Pickle into the meatball mix itself and some cayenne pepper....smooth and hot!

I give it 5* based on my small changes - fesh sage instead of fennel in the meatballs, black kalamata instead of green olives, and a mix of fresh tomatoes, tomato paste and a little water instead of the tinned tomatoes. I also didn't use cloves as my other half hates them. Was delicious and easy! We couldn't really taste the parmesan, but that may be due to cheese here in NZ being a bit rubbish compared to that back home!

Such a super dish. The olives really made it burst with flavor and taste fresh.

Cooked the meatballs in the oven at 200c for 10 minutes instead of frying them. that way there`s more chance of them not breaking up. Parmesan cheese and fennel taste of meatballs was good.

Cooked the meatballs in the oven at 200c for 10 minutes instead of frying them. that way there`s more chance of them not breaking up. Parmesan cheese and fennel taste of meatballs was good.

This is a great recipe - had some reduced price pork mince and made one and half times the quantity meat balls with double quantity sauce (which turned out to be a good move as the sauce is really yummy). I sent my daughter back to college with pots of balls in sauce to freeze. She has asked for more! They freeze well and heat up easily on the hob or in the microwave. Add lots of fresh basil. A real winner and great with any sort of pasta - good for everyday or having people for supper.

Great for mid week.

Great for mid week.

A big hit in our house. I added some dried parsley and lots of black pepper to the meatball mix. I used one tin of toms and one carton of passata as we like a bit more sauce.

Have just made this for dinner for tonight, have cook the meatballs and sauce and will add it together last min and reheat, do you think they will realize ive already eated 2 meatballs and sauce ;-) its very yummy, def be making it agan

This was great as I had lean minced pork to use. I made the meatballs but added the zest of one lemon to them and then I substituted the green olives (hubby not a fan) with 2 tbsp of capers in the sauce.
The lemon works well with the fennel and the capers give the sauce a lift as well. Served with wholewheat spaghetti and shaved pecorino romano (my fave over parmesan!) I used 1/2tsp of crushed chilis and found this gave the right spice for me. :)
Would make this again as was nice and tasty.

the meatballs were lovely! I used Peccorino cheese instead of Parmesan, as that's all I had, but they were scrumptious. I can't help but think, though, that another dimension is needed for the tomato sauce. I think next time I make it (and there WILL be a next time) I will try a roast tomato sauce, made with fresh ripe tomatoes and more seasoning than specified here. The sauce seems to need more depth of flavour and a little sweetness. Cloves, however, do work well. I think a little nutmeg wouldn't go amiss either. My advice is - give this recipe a go, but be prepared to adapt and improve.

I used frozen meatballs, and served with chickpea flatbreads. It was really really tasty and I'll definitely make it again!

Everyone in the house liked this recipe, my very fussy son wasn't keen on the olives in the tomato sauce and everyone felt that the sauce was a little runny, so perhaps it needs longer to simmer. But would definitely make this one again.

This is a really good recipe. I use beef mince as pork mince can be difficult to find where I live (Dubai) but it still turns out well. I also fry the meatballs in the frying pan first then make the tomato sauce using the same pan so all the 'bits' leftover get combined into the sauce.

This is a great recipe, try it! I seved it with penne and my husband loved it. I thought it would be a bit of effort, since it requires making the meatballs so I made it on a Saturday. I will make this again, and definitely for friends

I really like the sound of this.
I reckon I could make the meatballs and freeze them.
And I could make the sauce and freeze it. In fact, I like the sound of the sauce so much that I'll give it a try, then hopefully be able to make it in a larger quantity and freeze it in portions.