Penguin Anniversary Edition: The Naked Chef
By Jamie Oliver
Baked meatballs & tomato sauce
1 hr
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
Recipe From
Ingredients
800g quality lean meat for mincing, or bought minced meat
2 slices of bread
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ a small dried red chilli
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 level tablespoons dried oregano
1 large free-range egg yolk
olive oil
1 x Basic tomato sauce
2 handfuls of fresh basil
60g mozzarella cheese
60g Parmesan cheese
OPTIONAL
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
1 level tablespoon Dijon mustard
Method
- If your meat is not already minced, whiz it up in a food processor to the required consistency and place it in a bowl.
- Use the food processor to turn the bread into breadcrumbs, then add to the meat.
- Bash up the cumin seeds and dried chilli in a pestle and mortar, and pick and finely chop the rosemary leaves. Add to the mince with the dried oregano and egg yolk. Season well with sea salt and black pepper.
- At this stage you could add your optional ingredients (peeling and finely chopping the onion and garlic first, then cooked together gently in 1 tablespoon of oil until tender and allowed to cool).
- Mix well, and, with wet hands, roll and pat into meatballs the size and shape you want (cook straight away or put on greaseproof paper and refrigerated for up to a day.)
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and heat a thick-bottomed casserole pan on the hob.
- Swirl 4 tablespoons of oil around the pan and add your meatballs. Fry until brown all over, being careful not to break them up.
- Turn the heat down and cover with the Basic tomato sauce, pick the basil leaves and tear in fresh basil, tear over the mozzarella and finely grate over the Parmesan.
- Cook in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden.
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