Jamie Oliver's Meatballs

Source of Recipe

Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef), Australian Table, July 2000

List of Ingredients

900g mince meat
2 slices of bread
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, pounded
1/2 small dried red chilli
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 egg yolk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tomato sauce recipe (see Jamie Oliver's Basic Tomato Sauce)
2 handfuls fresh basil, torn
60g mozzarella cheese
60g parmesan cheese

optional:
1 onion, finely grated
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard


Instructions

Use a food processor to turn the slices of bread into bread crumbs.

Add the breadcrumbs to the dried oregano, cumin, chilli, rosemary and egg yolk to the minced meat, and season with two level teaspoons salt, and a good twist of black pepper.

At this stage, you could add your optional ingredients (cooked together gently until tender and allowed to cool).

Mix well and, with wet hands, roll and pat into meatballs the size and shape you want. These can be put on greaseproof paper, covered with plastic film and refrigerated for up to a day.

Preheat a thick-bottomed casserole pan to a very hot temperature, add 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, swirl around the bottom of the pan and add the meatballs. Fry them until they are brown all over, being careful not to break them up.

Turn the heat down, and cover with the tomato, load of ripped up fresh basil, and a little broken up mozzarella and grated parmesan. Cook in the oven at 200c for about 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is golden.

Contact Tim Kemp by email.