Melt in the Middle Meatballs
Sleeves rolled up! Hands washed but still damp, let’s get rolling! The skill is in wrapping the cheese entirely in the meat, so it’s hiding, ready to be discovered when everyone tucks in. Surprise, surprise!
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
1
Red Onion
2
Garlic Clove
1
Mozzarella
(Contains Milk)
5
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains Cereals containing gluten)
2
Dried Thyme
450
British Beef Mince
2
Tomato Puree
2
Chopped Tomatoes
1
Beef Stock Pot
400
Wheat Spaghetti
(Contains Cereals containing gluten)
4
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains Milk)
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Peel and finely chop the red onion and garlic. Cut the mozzarella into ½cm cubes. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and fry half the onion for about 5 mins until softened (keep the rest of the onion for your sauce). Add the breadcrumbs, thyme and half the garlic. Stir for 1-2 mins.
Take off the heat, put the mixture in a bowl and add the mince and 1 tbsp of tomato purée. Season with 1/2 tsp of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix together.
Use damp hands and shape the meat into small (ping pong sized) balls around each cube of mozzarella cheese. LH: This is a perfect job for small hands, keep hands damp so the meatballs don’t get too sticky.
Bring a pot of water to the boil ready for the pasta. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the frying pan on medium-high heat and fry the meatballs for 10-15 mins, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides and cooked through. Take them out of the pan and set aside. Tip: Be gentle when turning the meatballs, otherwise they might fall apart.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the same pan and fry the remaining onion, garlic and Italian herbs for about 4 mins until softened. Add the tinned tomatoes, fill a quarter of the tin with water and add to the sauce along with the remaining purée and beef stock pot, simmer for 10-15 mins. Add ½ tsp of sugar if you have some.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and simmer for 11 mins or until ‘al dente’. Tip: ‘Al dente’ simply means it is cooked through but has a hint of firmness left in the middle.
Tip the cooked meatballs into the tomato sauce and gently mix together. Drain and divide the pasta between the plates, top with the meatballs and sauce and a grate over your parmean. Tip: Cut the spaghetti into shorter lengths for very young diners. Top with any remaining mozzarella cubes and serve. Tip: Adults may need a bib as well as smaller members of the family! It could get messy!
