Baked Meatballs & Tomato Sauce
This recipe had to have a makeover as I was never really satisfied with the original. I'm glad to say though that I think it was worth it! I use a mixture of beef & pork as this makes them moist & juicy.
Sun dried tomatoes are readily available & quite cheap if you go to places like Lidl or Home Bargains. Use a couple of cloves of garlic if you don't have any garlic powder.
Serves 4-6 (12 meatballs) Approx 75p-£1.20 per person
Prep time 15 minutes Cooking 30 minutes for the sauce then 45-50 minutes in the oven
Level 🍴🍴🍴
Ingredients
- 500g pork mince
- 500g beef mince
- 1 tsp paprika
- pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 tin tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 ½ tsp dried basil
- 3 sun-dried tomatoes from a jar, finely chopped
- salt & pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
Heat 1 tbsp of oil & 1 tbsp butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
Cook the onion until starting to soften then add the garlic & basil. Cook for another minute before stirring in the tomato puree & sundried tomatoes.
Cook again for one minute then pour in the tinned tomatoes fill the tin with water halfway & add that too.
Allow to simmer for 5 minutes then season with salt & pepper & add the sugar.
Simmer again for about 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced & thickened. Remove from the heat.
Pre-heat the oven 180Fan/200C/Gas6.
Place the pork & beef mince into a large bowl & mix together with your hands.
Add the paprika, cayenne, pepper & garlic powder to the mince along with a pinch of salt & mix again with your hands. *If you want to avoid getting any spices on your hands wear rubber gloves!
Once its all mixed together divide the mince into 12 equal pieces & roll each piece into a ball. Alternatively you can use an ice cream scoop, I find it so much easier & the meatballs are all nice & uniform!
Put the meatballs into a baking tin or dish.
Now you can pour the sauce over the meatballs as it is or whizz in a blender to make it a little smoother then pour over.
Cover the dish with foil & bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes remove the foil & top the meatballs with some grated cheese if you want to then return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Serve with garlic bread, corn bread, pasta or rice!
