Day: 22 January 2019

Meatballs recipe 1 (Italian style)

I’ve a few meatball recipes to try, this one was delicious. It is adapted from another recipe that I have, but I needed to cut the quantities down, and make it simpler.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 450g minced beef
  • 50g breadcrumbs (I used panko) OR stick one slice of stale bread in a blender.
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 egg yolk
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tomato sauce recipe
  • Fresh basil, if available, or use good quality green pesto sauce
  • 1 pack of mozzarella cheese
  • 50g grated parmesan

METHOD:

  • In a large bowl, mix the mince, breadcrumbs, oregano, cumin, chilli, rosemary and egg yolk. Season with 1 level teaspoon of salt and a good grating of black pepper. Get your hands right into the mixture and really knead it together so that it is smooth and consistent.
  • Shape into meatballs. I divided the mixture into 16 meatballs, but you could make these into 24 smaller meatballs. Put on a tray, and chill in the fridge until needed.
  • Put the fresh tomato sauce into the bottom of a large shallow casserole dish or other oven-safe dish.
  • Preheat a large flat-bottomed pan, and put in a good quantity of olive oil. Fry the meatballs quickly until they are browned all over. When they are done, put them into the tomato sauce.
  • Cover the meatballs in sauce, top the dish with the cheeses and pesto or basil.
  • Bake in a hot oven 200C for 20 minutes and serve with pasta. We got some posh tagliatelle from the co-op which worked well.

Tomato sauce

I need to add this recipe because it is used in so many other things. I’m just about to add some recipes for meatballs and this is a prerequisite.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small chilli, finely chopped, or one dried chilli, crumbled
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 3 tins of plum tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 handful of basil, roughly chopped (I have made this without, when none in the shops)
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • In a large pan, gently fry the garlic in the olive oil.
  • Add the chilli, oregano and tomatoes. Don’t break the tomatoes up if possible, leave them whole. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently, checking every 10 minutes or so. If it is looking dry, add water.
  • Add the vinegar, and break up the tomatoes, stirring well. Add basil leaves, salt and pepper. A bit of very good olive oil can be added at this stage.

This makes a good quantity of tomato sauce, enough for one meatball recipe, and enough to serve six people.