Sausage meatball pasta bake

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and rosemary for 5 minutes until softened and golden.
2. Put the sausagemeat in a bowl. Mix in the fried onion, breadcrumbs, egg yolk, fennel seeds and some black pepper. Roll into walnut-size balls.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, slightly salted water for 5 minutes, then drain well.
4. Tip the pasta into an ovenproof dish. Mix with the tomatoes, passata, stock and sausage balls. Season, scatter over the cheese and bake for 30-40 minutes until the sausage balls are cooked through.
5. Cool completely, then wrap in cling film and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating at 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5 for 30 minutes until piping hot – cover with foil if it’s browning too much. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs to serve