I made this with some left-over roast venison, but you can also make it with venison mince. I have found that having a mechanical mincer is a game-changer. I think this would also work really well with minced beef. The recipe is from Norman Tebbit’s book, The Game Cook.
INGREDIENTS:
- 450g minced venison
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 50g breadcrumbs (I used panko)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 egg
- ground black pepper
- chopped parsley
- salt
- olive oil
- Another onion, finely chopped
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- 4 tbsp tomato puree
- 300ml red wine
- 2 tsp sriracha sauce, or 1/2 tsp paprika and 1/4 tsp chilli powder
- salt and pepper
METHOD:
- preheat the oven to 180C
- Start making the tomato sauce. Fry one of the chopped onions in olive oil over a medium heat.
- When the onion is soft and beginning to brown, add the tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine and sriracha sauce. Season with salt and pepper if required. Simmer over a low heat while you make the meat balls. If it looks too thick, add a little stock or water. I like to blend the sauce with a soup blender.
- Mix the minced beef with the onion, beaten egg, cumin, coriander, chilli, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well by hand and then mix in and combine the bread crumbs.
- Form the mixture into golf-balls (or slightly smaller). Fry in olive oil until browned. They should be handled carefully as they have a tendency to fall apart.
- Put the meatballs in a casserole dish with the tomato sauce, put the lid on and cook in the oven for around 40 minutes.
- Serve over spaghetti, with a green vegetable on the side, and a grating of parmesan on top.