Tomato Meat Sauce Fusilli

A hearty, quick-to-make Italian-inspired pasta dish featuring vibrant tomato sauce, savory minced meat, and perfectly cooked, sauce-clinging fusilli spirals.

Ingredients

• 80g fusilli pasta
• 100g minced pork
• 1 onion
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 150ml basil pasta sauce
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• optional grated parmesan cheese
• optional dried mixed herbs

Instructions

1. 1Prepare cherry tomatoes

   

   Place cherry tomatoes on a sturdy wooden cutting board. Using a sharp kitchen knife, carefully cut each cherry tomato into halves to prepare them for the sauce.

   Tip: Using a sharp knife makes it easy to slice through the skins without squashing the tomatoes.
2. 2Chop the onion

   

   Take an onion and place it on the cutting board. Use your knife to finely chop the onion, which will serve as the aromatic base for the pasta sauce.

   Tip: Chop the onions to a uniform size to ensure they cook evenly and integrate well into the sauce.
3. 3Measure the pasta

   

   Place a glass bowl on a kitchen scale and tare it. Carefully measure out exactly 80g of dried fusilli pasta to ensure the correct portion size for your meal.

   Tip: Precision in measuring dry pasta helps maintain consistent nutrition and portion control.
4. 4Boil the pasta

   

   Bring a pot of water to a boil, adding a pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil. Carefully add the measured 80g of fusilli pasta into the water and cook for 12 minutes until it reaches the perfect bouncy texture.

   Tip: Adding a little olive oil to the water prevents the pasta from sticking together during cooking.
5. 5Cook the meat and aromatics

   

   Heat a pan and add the frozen minced pork directly. Stir-fry until it begins to brown, then incorporate the previously chopped onions. Continue cooking until both the meat and onions are nicely browned and fragrant.

   Tip: Stir-frying frozen mince directly is a convenient time-saver that yields great results when browned properly.
6. 6Add the sauce

   

   Pour the store-bought basil pasta sauce into the pan with the browned meat and onions. Add a small splash of water to the sauce carton, swirl it around to capture every last bit of sauce, and pour it into the pan.

   Tip: Rinsing the carton with a little water ensures no sauce is wasted and helps adjust the consistency of the final mixture.
7. 7Simmer the sauce with tomatoes

   

   Add the halved cherry tomatoes into the pan containing the minced pork and onion mixture. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the tomatoes to soften slightly, creating a rich and flavorful sauce.

   Tip: Simmering on low heat prevents the sauce from burning and helps maintain the texture of the tomatoes.
8. 8Enrich with butter

   

   After turning off the heat, add small cubes of butter into the simmering tomato meat sauce. Stir until the butter is completely incorporated, which adds a rich, creamy finish to the sauce.

   Tip: Adding butter at the end of cooking gives the sauce a glossy sheen and a luxurious mouthfeel.
9. 9Combine pasta and sauce

   

   Add the cooked fusilli pasta into the pan with the tomato meat sauce. Stir thoroughly to ensure every spiral of the fusilli is evenly coated with the rich sauce.

   Tip: The spiral shape of fusilli is excellent for clinging onto sauce, ensuring a flavorful bite every time.

Storage & Reheating

Burn It Off

Frequently Asked Questions