Now who doesn’t LOVE a tender, melt in your mouth, tomato sauce covered, meatball?
This recipe might take a little bit to put together, but leaving it to slow cook for a couple of hours while you get on with your day will give you the perfect family meal.
Try to cook these long and slow, as this will give you a soft meatball. At times I pop the mixture in a baking dish and cover it. I leave it cooking on a low heat in the oven while I’m out at the kids’ sports after school. When we get home, I make up its accompaniments which can be a gluten free pasta OR Rice/Quinoa and a fresh salad or steamed veggies.
If you would like to boost the nutrients in this dish, add a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach leaves to the sauce just before serving and let it wilt through.
Enjoy! x
Mourish Italian Meatballs
Melt in your mouth, delicious Italian Meatballs
- 1 cup Day old sourdough bread (crust removed, cut roughly into 1cm cubes)
- 1 cup Milk or nut milk (enough to just cover the bread to soak)
- 1 kg Organic beef mince (you can mix pork and beef too)
- 1 handful Parsley (chopped)
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
- 3 tsp Sea salt
- 2 tsp Black pepper (ground)
- 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Brown onion (diced)
- 2-3 Garlic cloves ( finely chopped)
- 700 ml Passata tomato sauce
- 1 tin Tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 handful Basil (roughly chopped)
- 1 tsp Coconut sugar
- 1 cup Filtered water (+ more for later if needed to top up)
Put the bread in a bowl and soak in milk till well saturated.
While the milk is soaking, grab a large bowl and combine the mince, egg, parsley, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper.
Squeeze the milk out of the bread and combine into the mince mixture until well combined.
Roll the meatballs into palm sized balls, or which ever size you fancy really. Medium size is the traditional option but if you have some time, rolling them into small finger sized balls are a fun change for the kids especially. Place them on a plate to the side.
Next, in a large frying pan heat the olive oil. Add the onion and fry until translucent, being careful not to burn it. Add a tablespoon of water every so often if the onion looks to be catching.
Once the onions are translucent, add the garlic for 1 minute, being careful not to burn it.
Add the meatballs to the pan and brown them on both sides. You can do this in batches, however remember to make sure your pan is deep enough to hold them all once browned.
Add the passata, tinned tomatoes, sugar, basil and cup of water. Ensure the meatballs are covered by the liquid.
Bring the mixture to the boil, turn down the heat till it is gently bubbling and leave it for approximately 1.5-2 hours, lid on. If the mixture starts to thicken too much you can always add half a cup of water where you need it. This will loosen your sauce if you don't want it too thick.
Check for salt & pepper and add to your taste.