Italian pork meatballs recipe in tomato sauce is ideal with spaghetti, rice or mashed potatoes.
Baking the pork meatballs in the oven for 10 minutes is best. The pork meatballs cook more evenly and don’t break up, are leaner and poach better in the sauce.
You can fry them if you wish.
Makes: 12 - 15
Makes: 12 - 15
Ingredians:
60g soft white breadcrumbs, preferably from stale bread
60ml milk
400g minced beef
200g minced pork
1 egg
30g grated Parmesan
a grating of nutmeg
2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint
For the sauce:
2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
Preperation:
Preheat the oven to 220C and grease a baking tray.
Put the breadcrumbs in a small bowl with the milk and leave it for 10 minutes, or until the bread absorbs the milk.
Mix together with all the other ingredients for the meatballs and season with salt and pepper.
Using your hands, mould them into roughly 40g balls if you are eating them alone or with mash or rice, or 20g balls for eating with pasta (you could weigh the first one to get an idea). Put the balls on the prepared tray and bake for 15 minutes for big ones or eight minutes for small ones, turning them once, until they are just starting to brown. Alternatively, fry the polpette in a sauté pan in a little olive oil, turning them carefully until evenly browned.
Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Coarsely chop the tomatoes or pass them through the food mill. Crush the garlic with the back of a knife. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan, add the garlic and cook gently over a low heat until the scent rises up from the pan. Add the tomato and bay leaves and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring and breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon until the sauce is thick. Season with salt and pepper, then add the meatballs and cook them in the sauce for a further 15 minutes.
Serve with bread on the side, or with mashed potatoes or rice. If you are serving them with pasta, remove the meatballs from the sauce with a slotted spoon on to a warm plate. Mix the sauce with cooked spaghetti in a wide bowl, then dot with the meatballs and serve.
30g grated Parmesan
a grating of nutmeg
2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint
For the sauce:
2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
Preperation:
Preheat the oven to 220C and grease a baking tray.
Put the breadcrumbs in a small bowl with the milk and leave it for 10 minutes, or until the bread absorbs the milk.
Mix together with all the other ingredients for the meatballs and season with salt and pepper.
Using your hands, mould them into roughly 40g balls if you are eating them alone or with mash or rice, or 20g balls for eating with pasta (you could weigh the first one to get an idea). Put the balls on the prepared tray and bake for 15 minutes for big ones or eight minutes for small ones, turning them once, until they are just starting to brown. Alternatively, fry the polpette in a sauté pan in a little olive oil, turning them carefully until evenly browned.
Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Coarsely chop the tomatoes or pass them through the food mill. Crush the garlic with the back of a knife. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan, add the garlic and cook gently over a low heat until the scent rises up from the pan. Add the tomato and bay leaves and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring and breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon until the sauce is thick. Season with salt and pepper, then add the meatballs and cook them in the sauce for a further 15 minutes.
Serve with bread on the side, or with mashed potatoes or rice. If you are serving them with pasta, remove the meatballs from the sauce with a slotted spoon on to a warm plate. Mix the sauce with cooked spaghetti in a wide bowl, then dot with the meatballs and serve.
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| PORK MEATBALL RECIPE |
