oooh oooh Jaffa cake please!!
Right then, meatballs.
I had a kids recipe for them but cant find it, see what you think.
MEATBALLS - serves 4/6 (and the rest its quite huge!)
900g/2lb mince meat
2 slices of bread
2 level teaspoons dried oregano
half teaspoon cumin seeds, pounded
half small dried chilli, pounded
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 egg yolk
salt and freshly grounded black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tomato sauce recipe (will do in a mo)
2 handfuls fresh basil, picked and torn
60g/2ox mozz cheese, broken up
60g/2oz parmesan cheese, grated
OPTIONAL
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic
i tablespoon olive oil
1 level tablespoon dijon mustard
Place mince in a bowl, Use the food processor to turn the bread into breadcrumbs. Add the breadcrumbs, dried oregano, cumin, chilli, rosemary and egg yolk to the minced meat and season with 2 level teaspoons of salt and a good twist of black pepper. At this stage you could add your optional ingredients (cooked together gently until tender and allowed to cool).
Mix well and with wet hands, roll and pat into meatballs, the size and shape you want. (These can be cooked strait away or or put in greaseproof paper, covered with cling film and refrigerated for up to a day).
Preheat a thick bottomed casserole dish to a very hot temp, add 3 - 4 tablespoons of olive oil, swirl around the bottom of the pan and add your meatballs. fry them till they are brown all over, being careful not to break them up but just moving the pan around so that all sides of the meatballs get nicely coloured.
Turn the heat down and cover with tomato sauce, loads of ripped up basil and a little broken up mozz and grated parmesan. Cook in over at 200oc/400of/gas 6 for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is golden.
TOMATO SAUCE
This sauce can be frozen for up to a month or refrigerated for up to a week and is the basis of a lot of dishes.
SERVES 6-8
1 large clove of garlic finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small dried chilli, crumbled
2 teaspoons oregano
3 x 400g/14oz tins of italian plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 handful basil, roughly chopped
salt and fresh ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
In a thick bottomed pan gently fry the garlic with the olive oil, then add the chilli, oregano and tomatoes. Mix gently but do not break up the tomatoes as this will release the pips, which will make the sauce slightly bitter - by leaving the toms whole and letting the mixture cook slowly you will get a lovely sweet sauce.
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 1 hour. Add the vinegar, then stir and chop the toms in the sauce. Now add your fresh basil, season well tot aste, add 2-3 tablespoons of your best extra virgin olive oil.
Enjoy Ladies.