1. preheat the oven to 180°c (fan). spread the pine nuts evenly on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes (shaking occasionally) until evenly golden. set aside to cool. keep the oven running.
2. in a mixing bowl, combine the minced meat with the herbs, spices, onion, roasted pine nuts, barberries, egg and salt and pepper to taste, making sure that everything is evenly combined. shape the mixture into small balls, approximately 6 cm in diameter. if the mixture is too wet you can add 2-3 tbsp of breadcrumbs.
3. add 2 tbsp of olive oil to an ovenproof frying pan or shallow casserole and place on high heat. once the oil is hot, brown the meatballs until evenly golden, then set aside on some kitchen paper.
4. turn the heat down to medium, then add the onions with a healthy pinch of salt and cook until softened. add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, sugar, garlic and saffron essence with 100 ml of water and cook until the sauce has reduced by half. season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
5. once you’re happy with the consistency of the sauce, add the meatballs back in and finish off cooking in the oven for around 15-20 minutes.
6. serve the meatballs directly from the pan and enjoy!

* to make saffron essence use a mortar and pestle to grind the saffron into a fine powder (adding a pinch of salt to the mortar will help this along), pour over 2 tbsp of just boiled water and cool.