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Pork Meatballs with Bocconcini & Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce
Savour the succulent goodness of these Italian-style pork meatballs paired with a drop kick of spicy arrabbiata sauce.
- Yields: 40 |
- Difficulty: easy
- Prep Time : 1:30 hours |
- Cook Time : 35 mins
Ingredients
Meatballs
1 kg pork mince
½ C (125 ml) milk
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
¼ C (60 ml) fresh parsley, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1 tsp (5 ml) pepper
1 tsp (5 ml) dried Italian mixed herbs
extra virgin olive oil for frying
Arrabbiata Sauce
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1 tsp (5 ml) black pepper
To Serve
20 bocconcini balls, halved
fresh basil leaves, gently deep-fried in oil (optional)
Method
Meatballs
In a bowl or container, soak the two bread slices in half a cup of milk until all of the milk has been absorbed by the bread.
Meanwhile in a bowl, add the pork mince, onions, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and Italian herbs. Mix it all together. Add the bread slices soaked in milk and mix well to combine and incorporate all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
Arrabbiata Sauce
Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan. Fry the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chilli and fry for another minute. Pour the chopped tomato into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for about 30-45 minutes. If it reduces and thickens too much, you can add a little water to maintain a saucy consistency.
Meatballs cont.
Measure out two tablespoons of the pork mince mixture and roll it into a round ball. Repeat until you have used all of the mince.
Heat a frying pan to hot and add a generous drizzle of olive oil. Add a few meatballs at a time and fry, rotating to evenly brown and caramelise them all over. Transfer the meatballs to an oven tray.
Preheat the oven to the grill setting.
Add a bocconcini half to each meatball and grill in the oven until it is melted and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Do not grill for too long otherwise the meatballs will dry out.
Drizzle the meatballs with a teaspoon of spicy arrabbiata sauce and place a deep-fried basil leaf on top. Poke skewers through to hold all the elements together and make it easy and mess-free to pick up. Serve immediately.
