Mmm meatballs. Baked in sauce, accompanied by some crusty bread and a fresh salad and you’ve got yourself a comforting and oh so delicious meal!
I believe the key to tasty meatballs is making your own breadcrumbs. In fact, homemade breadcrumbs improve the taste of any dish which require them. You can use any type of bread that you have on hand (I’d opt for rye bread or wholemeal multigrain bread). For this recipe I toasted some rye bread, then tore up the slices and processed them in the food processor until I had coarse breadcrumbs.
I also like to throw in some diced Swiss mushrooms and I use red onion instead of brown onion. Lots of parsley is important too, as well as adding grated Parmesan cheese.
I like to brown the meatballs before baking them as it adds a wonderful depth of flavour to the dish- use minimal oil in the pan and don’t burn them.
You could also serve these with wholemeal pasta if you’re looking for a more substantial meal. Give these a go for dinner tonight and let me know what you think!
Recipe adapted from the Women’s Weekly ‘Bakes & Gratins’
Serves 6
Ingredients
1kg lean minced beef
2 large free-range eggs
1 cup freshly made rye breadcrumbs (see instructions above)
1 red onion, peeled and diced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnishing
1/3 cup chopped parsley, plus extra for garnishing
1 cup diced Swiss mushrooms
Freshly-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 brown onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cans peeled tomatoes, minced using a food mill
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Spray a baking dish with olive oil spray.
2. In a large bowl, add minced beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, red onion, Parmesan cheese, parsley and mushrooms. Season with freshly ground black pepper and mix with a spoon to combine all the ingredients.
3. Drizzle some olive oil on your hands then roll a couple of tablespoons of the mixture in your hands to form balls. I made 16 meatballs with this quantity. Ensure they’re all even in size.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large fry pan over medium heat, then add the meatballs and fry them until they are browned all over, using tongs to turn them over. Remove them from the pan and gently place them in the baking dish.
5. Wash the fry pan, then add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat it over medium heat. Add the brown onion, then after 1 minute add the garlic. Saute until the onion becomes translucent, stirring with a wooden spoon and ensuring that it doesn’t burn.
6. Add the minced tomatoes, oregano, salt, peas and some freshly-ground black pepper. Stir the sauce and cook for a couple of minutes, then pour it over the meatballs. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese (if desired) and bake (uncovered) for 40 minutes at 200ºC. Check to see that the meatballs are cooked through, then garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
*If you’d like to use this recipe, please reference this blog- thank you!
Curliziosa 