• Spaghetti
• Half a pack of pork mince
• One slice of bread
• 80ml milk
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 cloves
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• Salt
• One onion, finely diced
• Three cloves of garlic
• One stick of celery, finely diced
• One carrot, finely diced
• One tin of tomatoes
• About 250ml chicken stock
• About 250ml white wine
• Olive oil
• Parmesan

For the meatballs, tear the piece of bread into small pieces and soak in a large bowl with the milk. Crush the spices in a mortar and pestle until fine, then add to the bread with the pork and some salt. Grate in one clove of garlic, mix together thoroughly until there’s no milk in the bowl and it’s all properly integrated. I do this by squeezing the mix through my hands. Usually with mince, we don’t want to handle it too much because it can become bouncy – in this recipe, that’s what we’re after.

Form small, bitesized balls and fry gently until browned all over while you’re doing the sauce. If they’re done first, just set them aside – we’ll reheat them in the sauce.

Gently fry the onion, celery and carrot together until just translucent and sweet. Add the white wine and reduce until the pan is nearly dry before adding the tomato puree and stirring through. Cook for a minute or two, then add the chicken stock and stir while bringing to a simmer. Add the tomatoes and leave to simmer for half an hour. Taste, season.

To finish the dish, cook the spaghetti. Meanwhile, take a new pan or the one you cooked the meatballs in. Return the meatballs to it with a generous portion of the sauce and heat gently while carefully moving the meatballs to coat them in sauce. When the spaghetti is ready, transfer into the meatball and sauce pan with a ladleful of pasta water, toss and stir together until everything is silky and hot – a couple of minutes.

Serve with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of good oil.