So last night we had meatballs for dinner - yummo. This is a recipe I made up but it is so very basic I'm sure many people have cooked it before me. I love cooking meatballs because they are economical and are a great way to get some red meat into my 2yo daughter. My husband always gobbles them up too! Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
Meatballs:
500g premium beef mince (either pre-minced or minced in the TM)
About 200g breadcrumbs (made in the TM with day-old bread)
1 onion
1 egg
Handful fresh parsley (optional)
Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco Sauce
1 tsp salt
Pepper
Tomato Sauce:
1kg of fresh tomatoes (buy this much at the shops, then chop them up removing the cores and seeds. When placed in the TM the chopped tomatoes should weigh about 600g) OR 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
3 cloves garlic (or 4 small cloves)
1 onion
Olive oil
Handful fresh basil leaves
Salt and sugar (only really needed to balance out acidity/sweetness if using canned tomatoes. I find this isn't necessary when using fresh in-season tomatoes)
Cous cous (about 1/2 cup per person)
Green veg for steaming, e.g. beans/brocolli
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Start by making meatballs. If mincing meat in the TM, do so first then set aside.
Chop 1 onion with handful of fresh parsley, speed 5 for 1 second then scrape down sides of bowl and pulse on turbo twice.
Add mince and egg. Add a good amount of Worcestershire Sauce (probably around 2 tbsp) and a good bit of Tabasco Sauce (around 1 tsp). Add salt and pepper (a reasonable amount of salt is needed for taste, at least 1tsp).
Set TM to 'knead' mode and mix till mixture combined (watch through lid). While still mixing, add breadcrumbs through lid. Once half of the breadcrumbs has been added, turn off and remove lid to check consistency. More breadcrumbs will probably be needed, so keep adding through the lid if this is the case. Add breadcrumbs till correct consistency is achieved - mixture should be not too wet but not crumbly.
Use spatula to spoon out egg-sized lumps and use hands to roll onto balls. Place meatballs into a rectangular oven dish greased with olive oil, cover and place in fridge while tomato sauce is being made.
Now for the tomato sauce.
Chop onion and garlic on speed 5 for 1 second then scrape down sides of bowl and pulse on turbo twice.
Add quite a good amount of olive oil and sauté for 4 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 1.
Add chopped tomatoes, cook for 15 minutes, 100 degrees, speed 2.
Add 4-5 torn basil leaves through the lid at 10 minutes.
Once sauce is finished cooking check flavours and then pour over meatballs. Cover dish with foil (or lid) and place in oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and turn meatballs at 35 minutes.
While meatballs are cooking make cous cous by measuring out 1/2 cup of cous cous per person, placing in a bowl then adding an equal amount of boiling water. Cover bowl with foil and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, then cover again and leave for another 10 minutes. Fluff with fork again and add a generous amount of olive oil and salt and pepper, mixing in well. Cover again and leave till ready to serve.
Steam some green vegetables.
Serve meatballs on a bed of cous cous with sauce spooned on top and steamed greens on the side.
Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Variation:
These are also really yummy when made with chicken mince. When using chicken mince, I like to steam the meatballs in the Varoma instead of cooking them in the oven.
Mince 500g of chicken breast in the TM and set aside. Follow meatball instructions as per above but don't add onion/parsley/Worcestershire/Tabasco and instead add a few leaves of fresh basil and 1 clove of garlic when making breadcrumbs (if you are using pre-made breadcrumbs drop the clove of garlic and basil through the lid onto blades running at speed 5, then add mince). Add mince, egg, salt and pepper and add breadcrumbs as per method above. I often find that chicken mince requires a greater amount of breadcrumbs than beef mince. Roll mixture into balls and place into the Varoma dish that has been greased with olive oil. Make sure the balls are separated a bit to allow steam to come through. Make tomato sauce as per above but reduce garlic by 1 clove. When cooking sauce (i.e. after adding tomatoes) place Varoma on top and set for 10 minutes instead of 15. At end of 10 minutes place meatballs into rice basket and place into TM bowl. Set for another 10 minutes. Serve with cous cous, steamed greens and parmesan!
