Make these giant cheesy Mexican meatballs for a comforting family dinner. Also check out more delicious meatball recipes, such as our baked Italian meatballs and vegetarian meatballs.
Ingredients
- beef mince 1kg
- ground cinnamon 2 tsp
- ground cumin 2 tsp
- mozzarella block 200g, grated, plus extra to sprinkle over
- mature cheddar 200g, grated, plus extra to sprinkle over
- dried ancho chillies 2
- olive oil 2 tbsp
- onions 2, finely chopped
- garlic 4 cloves, finely chopped
- chipotle paste 1 tbsp
- peeled plum tomatoes 2 x 400g tins
- dark chocolate 50g, grated
- cooked rice to serve
CORIANDER SALSA
- coriander a large bunch, finely chopped
- limes 3, juiced
- red onion ½, finely chopped
- green chillies 2, deseeded and finely chopped
Method
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Step 1
Tip the beef into a bowl with the cinnamon and cumin, season generously, then combine well. Divide into 8 balls.
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Step 2
Combine the grated cheeses in a bowl and squeeze together to make 8 balls. Squash one of the beef balls into a flat circle and put a ball of cheese in the middle. Gather up the sides to enclose the cheese and use your hands to mould it over and into a ball. Repeat with the remaining meat and cheese, then chill the meatballs.
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Step 3
Put the ancho chillies into a small bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Drain, discard the seeds and stalks, roughly chop and put into a blender or food processor.
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Step 4
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onions and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Tip into the food processor with the ancho chillies and add the chipotle, tomatoes, chocolate and lots of seasoning, and whizz until completely smooth.
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Step 5
Pour the mixture into a large, deep baking tray then nestle the meatballs into the sauce, ensuring there is a little space around each. Sprinkle a little more of the cheeses over the meatballs then bake for 45 minutes until the meatballs have browned and the sauce has thickened.
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Step 6
Put all of the salsa ingredients in a bowl, season well and mix. Serve the meatballs with rice, if you like, and the coriander salsa to spoon over.
Nutritional Information
- Kcals 452
- Fat 30.9g
- Saturates 13.9g
- Carbs 10.1g
- Sugars 8.7g
- Fibre 3.1g
- Protein 31.8g
- Salt 0.6g
