Ingredients
- For the meatballs:
- 500g beef mince
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- 2tsp dried oregano
- 3tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
- 2tbsp milk
- 1-2tbsp seasoned flour, to coat
- For the sauce:
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 200ml red wine
- 1tsp caster sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp tomato purée
- For the topping:
- 125g mozzarella, torn
- 30g Parmesan, grated
Instructions
- For the meatballs, simply mix all the ingredients together and season. Using your hands, shape into golf ball-sized meatballs (you should have around 12). Toss the meatballs in the flour. Heat half the oil in a pan, brown the meatballs all over, remove and set aside.
- For the sauce, heat the remaining oil in an ovenproof dish or sauté pan and cook the onion and garlic until softened. Tip in the tomatoes and wine, stir in the sugar and tomato purée, bring to the boil then simmer until starting to thicken.
- Return the meatballs to the pan. Cook on a low heat until cooked through. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan and grill until golden and bubbling. Serve with buttered noodles and a green salad.
Notes
The dish would work equally brilliantly with a side of soft, crusty bread, to dip into the tomato sauce when the meatballs have been gobbled up. Or, you could even boil up some spaghetti or penne pasta and enjoy it as a bigger dinner dish, if you want to bulk it out!
