Coeliac Gluten Free Pork and Veal Recipe
Everybody loves a meatball. Whether they be called polpettine, gehaktballen or albondigas, they’re a world-wide favourite.
These ones are closer to the Italian polpettine using pork and veal mince and flavoured with fennel seeds and parmesan.
We’ve served them as a main course with a Cherry Tomato Sauce but they can be rolled into smaller balls with extra tomato sauce for a delicious pasta dish.
Even smaller balls can be skewered with elegant spikes and dipped in extra thick tomato sauce for a very tasty nibble to have with drinks.
They can be dropped into soup to jazz up a Sunday night in front of the television and they can be made ahead and frozen in their raw state, as can the tomato sauce, ever-ready to have a ball in the wink of an eye.
Cheers
Rosie
PORK, VEAL, FENNEL AND PINENUT MEATBALLS WITH CHERRY TOMATO SAUCE
Serves 8-10
1 kg pork and veal mince
100 gm fresh gluten-free breadcrumbs
60 gm pinenuts, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, lightly toasted
100 gm freshly grated parmesan
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Parsley leaves to scatter
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Preheat grill to medium-high.
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and, with your hands, mix together until very well combined.
Using a tablespoon for measure, roll mixture into balls and place on the baking paper lined tray.
Place under the preheated grill for approximately 5 minutes or until browning on the top. Turn and brown the other side for a further 5 minutes or until cooked through or you can pan fry the meatballs in a little olive oil if you prefer.
Toss the meatballs in enough of the tomato sauce just to coat. Spoon some tomato sauce into the base of a serving dish, top with the meatballs and scatter with parsley leaves.
TIP: You can easily halve this recipe or make the full batch and freeze any extra meatballs, in their raw state, to have on hand.
CHERRY TOMATO SAUCE
100 ml olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 400ml tins Italian peeled tomatoes, pureed
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, washed and dried
1 pinch sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and fry until soft and transparent but not coloured. Add the pureed tomatoes and simmer, stirring occasionally, until you have a thick sauce consistency, about 20 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and simmer a further 5 minutes. The cherry tomatoes should soften a little but still hold their shape.
Any left over tomato sauce will freeze well.