Meatballs recipe for 4 - 8 people, takes only 45 mins; recipe has rapeseed oil, onion, wholemeal bread, carrot, celery, red pepper, pork mince, egg, rapeseed oil, garlic cloves, passata, thyme, sugar, basil and spaghetti.
Toddler recipe: Batch-cook mini pork & veg balls
Course: Meatballs
Servings
4 - 8
servings
Prep time
15 mins
Ingredients
- Red Pepper: 1 red pepper, cut into chunks
- Spaghetti: cooked spaghetti and grated cheese, to serve
- Onion: 1 small onion, chopped
- Egg: 1 egg
- Carrot: 1 carrot, cut into chunks
- Sugar: 1 tsp sugar (optional)
- Basil: fresh basil or parsley, chopped (optional)
- Garlic Cloves: 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Passata: 2 x 390g cartons passata
- Thyme: 1 tsp dried thyme
- Wholemeal Bread: 1 slice wholemeal bread, torn into chunks
- Rapeseed Oil: 2 tsp rapeseed oil
- Celery: 1 celery stick, cut into chunks
- Pork Mince: 500g lean pork mince
Directions
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat 2 tsp rapeseed oil in a mediumsaucepan. Add the onion and cook for 5-10 mins until softened. Blitz the bread in afood processoruntil you have breadcrumbs. Add the cooked onion, carrot, celery and peppers and pulse until finely chopped. You may need to use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times. Add the pork, egg and a little black pepper, then pulse to combine.
- Divide the mixture in half. Shape half into small meatballs about the size of large marbles and arrange on a baking tray lined with foil. Shape the rest into golf-ball-sized meatballs. Arrange on a lined tray and open freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag and save for another meal. Now bake the mini meatballs for 25 mins or until browned and cooked through.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Using the same pan that you cooked the onion in, heat the 1 tsp oil, add the garlic and cook for 2 mins. Pour in the passata, add the thyme and sugar. Simmer for 5-10 mins. Gently stir the meatballs and any juices into the sauce and heat through for a few mins. Stir the meatballs through the spaghetti and serve with grated cheese.
