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Melting-middle meatballs

Name: Melting-middle meatballs
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: beef mince 250g; pork mince 250g; onion 1, grated; fennel seeds 2 tsp, crushed; flat-leaf parsley a handful of leaves, chopped; soft breadcrumbs 50g; egg 1, beaten; mozzarella 200g, cut into 1cm cubes; garlic 2 cloves, sliced; olive oil; tinned cherry tomatoes 2 x 400g tins; chilli flakes a pinch; basil a small bunch, chopped; cooked rigatoni or short or pasta to serve

1 hour
serves 4
Easy

Mozzarella melts out of these beef and pork meatballs, served on rigatoni to soak up the cheesy tomato sauce

By Janine Ratcliffe

Published: May 5, 2016 at 3:26 pm

Try these melting-middle meatballs, then check out more meatball recipes, such as our baked Italian meatballs and vegetarian meatballs.

Ingredients

beef mince 250g
pork mince 250g
onion 1, grated
fennel seeds 2 tsp, crushed
flat-leaf parsley a handful of leaves, chopped
soft breadcrumbs 50g
egg 1, beaten
mozzarella 200g, cut into 1cm cubes
garlic 2 cloves, sliced
olive oil
tinned cherry tomatoes 2 x 400g tins
chilli flakes a pinch
basil a small bunch, chopped
cooked rigatoni or short or pasta to serve

Method

Step 1

Put both the mince, onion, fennel, parsley, breadcrumbs and egg into a large bowl. Season really well and mix well with clean hands. Divide into 30 rough meatballs.
Step 2

Poke a cube of mozzarella into the centre of each meatball and shape the mix around it so it’s completely buried. Leave them to sit while you make the sauce.
Step 3

Fry the garlic in 2 tbsp oil for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chilli flakes and simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Season.
Step 4

Heat another tbsp oil in a clean frying pan and fry the meatballs until they’re browned all over. Do this in batches and scoop out onto a plate when they’re brown.
Step 5

Stir the meatballs and basil into the sauce and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve with rigatoni.