food 4 tots

Meatballs & Pasta – the Jamie Oliver’s way

meatballs and pasta

I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver, the famous English chef, not only for his unpretentious cooking style, but also his campaigns in promoting proper eating habits for kids as well as adults.

In 2005, he signed up as a dinner lady in the School Dinner TV series to challenge the junk food culture in schools by showing them that they too can serve fresh nutritious food that kids can enjoy eating as well. He actively campaigned for radical changes to have quality school dinners served in the UK.

He later wrote a new book in 2008 – Jamie’s Ministry of Food, backed by a TV show (also called Ministry of Food) to expand his food revolution. The idea is to inspire people to get back to the kitchen and start making simple, delicious food from scratch again.

If you visit the Ministry of Food’s website, you can find plenty of easy–to-follow recipes with detailed step-by-step instructions, photos and online cooking shows demonstrated by Jamie. I highly recommend this site to novices who want to learn the basic cooking skills especially for those who have never cooked western food before.

Amongst Jamie’s featured recipes, I decided to try out his meatball and pasta recipe and like to share it with you. The results turned out to be very satisfactory. Remember to watch the 9-mins video clip as it is a great help for you to understand the whole cooking procedure. The meatballs are easy-to-prepare and very flavourful as well with the usage of fresh rosemary and dried oregano. My son was so fascinated with the round-shape meatballs, he even claimed they resemble chocolate balls. However, the pasta sauce turned out to be a bit bland as I had omitted the chilli and balsamic vinegar as required by the recipe. Thus, I improvised using my own concoction of sugar, salt, tomato paste and chicken stock, adjusting the taste to my liking (note 1).

This is certainly a great recipe for people to kick start their cooking. If you have tried and like this recipe, remember to PASS IT ON to your friends so that more people will learn to cook.

“What we eat affects everything, our mood, behaviour, health, growth, even our ability to concentrate.” – Jamie Oliver.

combinedmeatballs

I am submitting this dish to Presto Pasta Night, founded by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast, and hosted by Amy of Very Culinary this week.

>> Click on page 2 below for Meatballs and Pasta recipe……………

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68 Comments

  1. Oh yes.. Jamie Oliver, my favorites naked chef 😛 I like his recipe! Your pasta looks really yummy!

  2. Alice says:

    Wow! so tedious! You are such a Jamie Oliver’s fan! The way he makes the meatball is really gorgeous! I admired the way he presented his simple and quick style of recipes & cooking! 😉

    • food-4tots says:

      Alice: It is actually very simple if you follow thru his online cooking video. Do give it a try! I am sure Sean will luv “chocolate balls” as well, right? 😉

  3. Thanks for the recipe and will try it out soon as my daughter, a pasta lover will sure loves it. I absolutely agree with you that eating the right food is very important especially during the growing age of our children.

  4. Oooooo… the pasta honestly looks damn great! 🙂

  5. skinnymum says:

    have always been a nigella fan. have not read any of jamie’s books or sat through his program but hey, this looks really good. will definitely make this for my pasta crazy daughters

    • food-4tots says:

      Skinnymum: I had watched a few Nigella’s shows on Asia Food Channel. She is a great chef too. Tks for trying this recipe and hope your girls will luv it. Remember to PASS IT ON!!! 😉

  6. Selba says:

    Love Jamie Oliver! Used to watch his shows for years 🙂

    The meat balls and pasta looks great!

  7. Little Inbox says:

    Your meat balls looked so beautiful with shiny surface. Mine one always rough.

    • food-4tots says:

      Little Inbox: Tks!! Maybe I shot the meatballs immediately after cooking, so you will still see the shiny effect. After a while, the shine will disappear too. Watch the video clip and you will see how Jamie rolls the meatballs until round and smooth. 😉

  8. Ruth says:

    Great recipe and thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

    I hope everyone joins Jamie’s Ministry of Food. Fantastic idea!

  9. Ching says:

    Looks so delicious! I like the addition of rosemary, so fragrant.

  10. Ah I am going to try this recipe. Hubby also the fans of Jamie Oliver. lol So will try this in the coming school holiday. Thanks for sharing!

  11. Christine says:

    Lovely! My kids can inhale pasta, thanks for passing the recipe on! 🙂

  12. mycookinghut says:

    Your meat balls look good! I am not a great fan of Jamie Oliver. But, he has got some good recipes. It’s just that in the UK – I think when comes to chefs, only the celebrity chefs are recognised for eg. Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Nigella.. etc. They sort of have monopolised the industry, which I think many other great chefs out there are not made known cos they are not celebrity… if you get what I mean. 🙂

    • food-4tots says:

      Lee Mei (MCH): Tks!! I understand and totally agree with your view. It doesn’t happen in UK but other parts of the world too. Sometimes, they just need a bit of luck. 😉

  13. daphne says:

    I came over here from Presto Pasta- What a great looking dish and reading your entry just make me want to hop into the kitchen and get cooking!

    • food-4tots says:

      Daphne: Tks for your wonderful compliments. You made my day!! I like your pasta entry too. You really know how to make full use of all your stocks in the fridge. That’s the most challenging task to me. Have to learn from you. 😉

  14. Joanne says:

    I never realized how much of an activist Jamie Oliver is – what an admirable guy. Thanks for sharing these facts about him as well as his recipe.

  15. Sara says:

    I am a fan of Jamie Oliver’s too. This dish looks beautiful.

  16. peanutts says:

    Jamie oliver is the best!!! I also watch micheal smith , chef at home and he also give pretty good tips on how to create simple kid friendly meals

    • food-4tots says:

      Peanutts: Hope you will give this recipe a try and pass it on. I did watch Michael Smith’s show and love his kitchen very much. It’s my dream kitchen. 😉

  17. lingzie says:

    i really enjoyed watching the ministry of food series on AFC a while back. i think what jamie is trying to do with pass it on and the school dinners is very commendable.

    that said those meatballs looked even better here than on tv! lol will definitely try it out sometime and pass it on! hehe

  18. Selba says:

    psssttt… I’ve an award for you in my blog 😉

  19. buzzingbee says:

    looks really wonderful 🙂

  20. homeladychef says:

    One dish, bao ka liao! Tried this dish before, really nice! 🙂

  21. Oh wow, lovely! Your meatballs are perfectly done. Very yummy-looking dish, indeed 🙂

  22. Dora says:

    I have not tried meatballs pasta before. This one tempts me to give it a try!

  23. your meat ball look so delicious!! Hmm I’m not really a fan of Oliver,I guess USA TV keep promote their own chefs hardy other country chef..but I saw few of his show in local education TV..quite interesting!!

  24. tigerfish says:

    I enjoy some of Jamie’s simplest recipes too.

  25. very nice, very inspiring! simple and perfecto!

  26. noobcook says:

    This looks fantastic, your meatballs are so well made. I’ve bought Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food cookbook, there are still many recipes there that I wanna try =)

  27. Diana says:

    I’m such a fan of teaching children to cook things from scratch at a young age. This is a great recipe for kids!

  28. Myf says:

    I absolutely LOVE this! Yummy..

  29. […] Meatballs and Pasta – the Jamie Oliver’s way (c/o LK at Food-4 Tots) I'm an instant fan of LK's at Food-4 Tots who's blog focuses on simple, healthy and practical recipes that are suitable for toddlers. But her recipes aren't just for kids – I bet this Meatballs and Pasta dish would be enjoyed by adults, as well. I cannot wait to make it. […]

  30. mico says:

    Hi,
    looks yummy ! just want to check where do you get the rosemary in Spore? Thanks.

    Mico

  31. food-4tots says:

    ZZ: Yes, you can.

  32. Sherilyn Yeo says:

    Hi,

    May i know if it is ok to make a batch and freeze some of the uncook ones for other time?

  33. Sherilyn Yeo says:

    Ok noted. How much dried rosemary should i use as i do not have fresh rosemary? Will it affect that taste? Im not good with western cooking. :p

    • food-4tots says:

      Sherilyn Yeo: You can replace it with Italian mix herb. Rosemary will add more Western aroma to the meatball. However, if you don’t frequently cook Western food, it’s fine to skip it. 😉

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