Today’s recipe comes from our favourite nutritionist Rosie Eyre at By Rosie.
She says: “This is a great recipe to hide lots of extra veggies in; either for kids who don’t like veggies or even adults who find it hard to get lots of veggies into their diet. Adding more veggies also reduces the cost if you have to cook for the masses throughout the week.
I love all of the flavours in this recipe. The meatballs were made with mashed chickpeas, grated zucchini and some beef mince and a combination of herbs and spices which really take it to the next level and make it taste a lot more exciting than it sounds.
“The tomato sauce was slow cooked for about an hour with red wine, garlic and onion and spices. Season it and blitz it and you have a winning rich and deep flavoured sauce which marries itself so well with the meatballs.”
Ingredients
For the veggie meatballs:
2 zucchinis, grated
1 tin chickpeas, mushed into a mash with a fork
200g beef mince
4 sprigs basil, finely chopped
2 organic eggs
1/3 cup sultanas, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves, minced)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
For the spiced tomato sauce:
Olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chilli (optional)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tin (400g) diced tomatoes
1/2 tin (200ml) red wine
1 stock cube
1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
pinch of sea salt and pepper to season
Method
Prep the tomato sauce first, heat a medium sauce pan that houses a heavy lid with a good dash of olive oil. Add onions, lid on and let it sweat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and translucent. Add the garlic, let it sweat for a minute more. Then add all the spices (cumin, chilli, turmeric and smoked paprika) fry with the onion for a minute more before adding the tinned tomatoes, red wine and stock cube. Stir well. Medium to low heat and let it simmer for 45-50 minutes until thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper and brown sugar.
Blitz with a whizz stick until smooth. Tip: if getting thick too quickly add a little water.
Whilst tomato sauce is simmering, make your meatballs. Add all ingredients for meat balls into one large bowl and mix well with your hands to ensure that all is mixed well together.
Get a 1/3 cup (which will make two meatballs) and scoop the mixture into it, split in half and roll into balls. Continue this step until all mixture has been rolled.
Heat a large frying pan, add a good splash of olive oil, medium heat, add your meat balls. Tip: might have to do two batches if pan not big enough. Let them sizzle for 5-7 minutes each side to ensure they are cooked through. I did place a lid on top of pan to make sure they were cooked through. Once cooked place on a plate. Tip: doesn’t matter if a little charred on each side.
Grab a large bowl to serve. Fill with the tomato sauce then dollop your meatballs on top. Finely grated parmesan and finely chopped basil will go well on top to serve.
