Italian Meatballs are a fantastic mid-week family meal that not only tastes great, but looks great too. Add potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes to the meatballs and bake. Serve sprinkled with basil leaves.
Italian Meatballs, Potatoes, Zucchini and Tomato Bake
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 thick slices ciabatta bread or sourdough, crusts trimmed, roughly chopped
1 cup milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
750g pork and veal mince, or pork mince
1 egg, whisked
1 lemon, finely grated rind
½ cup finely grated parmesan
¼ cup pine nuts, roughly chopped
½ cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped or 2 tsp dried basil
4 medium potatoes, washed, cut into 4cm pieces
olive oil cooking spray
2 zucchini, sliced
250g cherry tomatoes
¼ cup small basil leaves, extra, to serve
Method:
Place bread into a bowl and cover with milk. Stand for 15 minutes. Drain and squeeze as much milk as possible from bread. Place bread into a large bowl.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool. Add onion mixture to bread with mince, egg, lemon rind, parmesan, nuts and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Form 2 tbsp of mixture into meatballs and place onto a tray.
Preheat oven to 200˚C. Place potatoes into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes or until just tender. Drain.
Line a large baking tray (with a lip) with baking paper. Place potatoes onto tray and spray with olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes. Add meatballs to tray and cook for 20 minutes. Stir potatoes and meatballs. Add zucchini and tomatoes. Spray with olive oil and roast for 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Sprinkle with basil leaves and serve.
