Meatballs – Easy Home Cooking Recipe
Meatballs are a tasty favourite dish of young and old alike. This recipe uses half pork and half turkey for a lighter and more healthy version of the original recipe without losing any of the flavour.
This easy home cooking meatballs recipe can be served all year round as a hearty lunch or even an informal dinner party dish for friends and family.
We have tweaked this recipe several times to suit our own tastes so feel free to experiment a little with subtle changes that you may prefer.
Ingredients For Pork & Turkey Meatballs
- 400g mince. Half turkey/half pork
- 25g fresh white breadcrumbs. (1 slice of bread whizzed up in the food processor)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed.
- 2 tbsp olive oil.
- 1 onion, chopped.
- 1 carrot, grated.
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika.
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cumin.
- 1/2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped.
- 400g can chopped tomatoes with Basil.
- 1 tbsp tomato purée.
- 400g good quality spaghetti or linguine cooked al dente to serve.
- Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste.
How To Make Pork & Turkey Meatballs
Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4
Place the Pork and Turkey mince in a large mixing bowl with the breadcrumbs and half the garlic. Season with the salt and pepper. Add the Cumin and Smoked Paprika, then mix well to combine. Using your hands, gently mould and shape the mixture into 12 equal sized meatballs, then place in the refrigerator to firm up for around 15 minutes.
Gently heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add the onion, carrot, chopped red chilli and remaining garlic to the pan and stir. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 mins until the onion mixture has softened.
Add the can of tomatoes with basil to the pan along with half a can of water. Stir in the tomato purée. Season to taste and simmer for 10 – 15 mins until the meatballs sauce has thickened. The sauce is ready and can be served as is, for a rustic finish or it can be blended with a hand blender or a food processor if you fancy a smoother finish.
In a large heavy frying pan, heat the remaining oil. Fry the meatballs for 8-10 mins until they are cooked through. Add the meatballs to a large baking dish, and pour over the tomato sauce. Cover meatballs and sauce with alluminium foil and bake in the preheated oven for approx 30 minutes or until piping hot.
Serve immediately with spaghetti or linguine.
|
|
