Spicy meatballs in a tomato sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the tomato sauce:
700 g (1
1
/
2
lb) ripe plum
tomatoes
1 medium onion
10 g (
1
/
2
oz) butter
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp sun dried tomato purée
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp clear honey
8-12 fresh basil leaves, torn
For the meatballs:
450 g (1 lb) fresh lean minced
chicken, turkey or beef
125 g (4
1
/
2
oz) fresh white
breadcrumbs
1 tsp chilli powder or paprika
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black
pepper
Method:
1. To remove the skins from the tomatoes,
steam them at 100°C for 1 minute. The skins
will then come away easily. Then chop them
coarsely.
2. Chop the onion and place it in a solid
container. Dot the butter around the onion,
then cover and cook at 120°C for 5 minutes
or 100°C for 10 minutes, or until soft.
3. Add all the other ingredients to the onions,
and cook for a further 10 minutes at 120°C
or 20 minutes at 100°C. Once the sauce has
cooked, liquidise it until it is smooth, then
strain it through a sieve to remove the
tomato pips. Season to taste.
4. Whilst the sauce is cooking, make the
meatballs by combining all the meatball
ingredients together. If the mixture is too
moist, add some more breadcrumbs. Lightly
rub a little flour over the palms of your
hands, and take tablespoons of the mixture
and roll them into balls. This quantity should
yield approximately 10 meatballs.
5. Place the meatballs in the tomato sauce and
cook at 100°C for 4 minutes. Garnish with
fresh basil leaves.
143
