Slow-baked Meatballs

Serves 6

Time to cook: 40 minutes, oven time 90 minutes

Nutrition per serving:

  • Calories: 425kcal
  • Carbs: 14.8g
  • Protein: 28.8g
  • Fat: 26.2g
  • Fibre: 2.7g

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

  • 250g British beef mince
  • 250g outdoor reared pork mince
  • 100g pancetta, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 60ml buttermilk
  • 50g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • Small handful fresh flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 large free-range egg, lightly beaten
  • 45g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve

For the Tomato Sauce

  • Olive oil for frying
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 700ml passata
  • 75ml dry red wine
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 125g mozzarella ball, sliced

 

Method

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all meatball ingredients. Season and mix.
  2. Form golf-ball-size meatballs by rolling the mixture in your hands, then transfer to a large baking tray. Repeat with the remaining mixture, cover and leave in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  3. Put the frying pan/casserole over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil. If all the meatballs don’t fit in the pan, fry half the meatballs until browned on all sides (8-10 minutes), then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper.
  4. Heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2. For the tomato sauce, drain excess oil from the pan and put on a low heat. Add the garlic and slowly simmer for a minute.
  5. Pour in the passata and red wine and stir in. Add the oregano, chilli flakes and salt and pepper. Bring to a steady simmer and allow to cook for 5-6 minutes before returning the meatballs to the pan, turning to coat them in the sauce. Cover the pan with a lid and transfer to the oven.
  6. Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, turn up the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7, dot the meatballs with the mozzarella and a little extra parmesan, then return to the oven.
  7. Serve the baked meatballs with spaghetti cooked in a pan of boiling water until tender, and sprinkle generously with grated parmesan.

 


Written by Bev Walton, BSc Nutritional Science

I achieved a First-Class Honours degree in BSc Nutritional Science, Nutrition Sciences from the University of Reading and now have over 35 years experience in all types of cuisine, dietary plans, recipe development, health and nutrition. I have been writing for over 10 years for magazines and websites as well as ghostwriting for ebooks, Kindle and fully published books. I’m also a proud member of the Guild of Food writers.

Bev Walton | University of Reading BSc Nutritional Science, Nutrition Sciences