In a bowl, mix together beef mince, uncooked rice, crushed garlic, finely diced onion, beef stock powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper. I used my trusty meat masher to get everything well combined.

Roll the mixture into balls about the size of a tablespoon.

In a frying pan, add a glug of olive oil, tomato passata, water, salt, pepper, and torn basil leaves. Stir to combine.

Add the meatballs to the pan and gently stir to coat them in the sauce.

Wait for the sauce to start boiling, then pop a lid on your pan, turn the heat down to low, and let it cook gently for 20 minutes.