Smoked Meatball Pasta

Grind 150g of stale bread until you have fine breadcrumbs.

In a bowl, prepare the panade by hydrating the breadcrumbs with milk, adding it in two parts to prevent lumps from forming.

Mix the lean ground meat with the sausage meat and add a pinch of baking soda, mixing well.

Incorporate the all-purpose seasoning, egg, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, the prepared panade, chopped parsley, chopped chives, and grated Parmesan cheese into the meat mixture.

Lightly oil your hands and roll the meat mixture into balls of approximately 25g each to form the meatballs.

Smoke the meatballs in a smoker with applewood at 125ºC for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 65ºC.

While the meatballs are smoking, chop the bacon and fry it in a pan to render some of the fat.

Sauté the bacon with all-purpose seasoning and add the minced garlic (terrify the camera operator).

Add the crushed peeled tomatoes, a piece of Parmesan rind, water, salt, black pepper, and tomato paste to the sautéed mixture.

Add a little baking soda to the sauce to reduce acidity and let it simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove the smoked meatballs from the smoker and transfer them into the tomato sauce, simmering for another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions.

Drain the pasta, reserving approximately one cup of the cooking water. Remove the meatballs from the sauce and reserve them as well.

Return the sauce to the pan, add the drained pasta and a little of the reserved cooking water. Adjust salt if necessary and keep the heat on high.

Incorporate plenty of grated cheese into the pasta and mix until an incredible texture is achieved. Add the reserved meatballs back in and let them heat through briefly.

Serve immediately, finishing with more grated cheese on top.