Italian Style Meatballs

Look no further for a great meatball recipe, this is genuinely healthy, easy and quick. The beauty of the method is that you can use any mincemeat you fancy, turkey, lamb or chicken and it will be tasty and juicy. The addition of milk and bread leave the meat soft and juicy, therefore, you can use a lean beef with no worries.

The addition of cheese gives it a rich flavour and baking them means no shallow frying and no added oils.

These can be served alongside a simple basic tomato sauce or even hummus or mutabal, the sky if your limit for options. If you are looking to feed a crowd, then meatball spaghetti is your saviour. Please read the notes below.

Buon appetito

Servings: 1 tray of 35

Yield: 35 balls

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

baking: 20 minutes

Start to finish: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1-kilogram lean minced beef

1 small onion finely diced

4 slices bread, crust removed

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup parmesan cheese

¼ cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon Himalayan salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

· Preheat oven on the fan setting to 200 C.

· In a glass bowl, tear the bread into small chunks, add the milk and work it with the fingers until it resembles a thick sauce.

· Add the beef and work it until it is mixed well.

· Add all the rest of the ingredients, mix well, and now you are ready to form the balls.

· Start shaping the meat into golf size balls, rolling it between the palm of the hands until no cracks are apparent.

· Place on a tray lined with baking paper(makes cleaning tray easier) and place the balls on it.

· Allow it to bake for 20 to 25 minute until nicely browned.

· Place on a serving dish accompanied by a simple tomato sauce or any sauce and dip of your liking.

Notes:

· You can use the baked balls to make meatball spaghetti, prepare a simple basic tomato sauce, then add the cooked meatballs and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Toss with your spaghetti and enjoy

· The meatballs can be frozen baked or raw. Lay them on a tray and freeze them. Once frozen place in a plastic sealed bag or airtight freezer container and use as needed.

· If they are cooked, you can toss them immediately without thawing.

· If using them from frozen raw the place in the fridge overnight until thawed and bake or cook as desired.

Per tray: 3258 Calories; 224g Fat (63.0% calories from fat); 229g Protein; 68g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 750mg Cholesterol; 2650mg Sodium.

Per meatball: 93 Calories; 6g Fat (63.0% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 21mg Cholesterol; 76mg Sodium.