FANCY a taste of Rick Stein's weekend adventures? Try out this tasty meatballs recipe from his new book.

Soutzoukakia (Meatballs in tomato sauce with cinnamon & cumin)

(Serves 4)

Ingredients: For the meatballs: 500g minced beef, 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated, 1 egg, beaten

1/2tsp ground cumin, 1/2tsp dried oregano, 2 slices stale white bread (about 100g), soaked in red wine and squeezed dry, 1/2tsp salt, 12 turns black pepper mill, 3tbsp olive oil

For the tomato sauce: 1 onion, finely chopped, 1 clove garlic, finely chopped, 3tbsp olive oil, 5cm cinnamon stick, 1tsp ground cumin, 1tsp sugar, 150ml red wine, 1tbsp tomato paste, 500ml passata, 1/2tsp salt, 12 turns black pepper mill

Method: Mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs except the olive oil and, with wet hands, mould into 20-24 rugby-ball shapes. Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat and fry the meatballs until golden on all sides, or grill on a griddle pan if you like grill lines on the patties.

Make the tomato sauce by sweating the onion and garlic in the olive oil with the cinnamon stick, cumin and sugar until soft, about 10 minutes over medium heat. Add the red wine and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium again. Add the tomato paste and passata, season with the salt and pepper and cook until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

Add the fried meatballs and simmer for 20-30 minutes with a lid on the pan until cooked through, adding a little water if the sauce is too thick.

*Rick Stein's Long Weekends, with photography by James Murphy is available now.