Sausage Meatballs With Broccoli Cheese

Who doesn’t love an easy tray bake dinner! Less meat and more veggies but my boys don’t seem to notice!

I like to use spicy Italian sausages for this but use whatever you enjoy. If you are doing gluten free, just double check your sausage ingredients.

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients

450g spicy Italian pork sausages

1 broccoli head, florets cut off and stem peeled and sliced

250mls cream

50g grated cheese

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.

Peel the skin off the sausages and form into balls.

Place the meatballs in the roasting tin and slide into the oven.

Bake for 10minutes until beginning to colour.

Add the broccoli florets and stems to the roasting tin, return to the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Now pour the cream into the roasting tin and sprinkle over the cheese and seasoning.

Bake for 15-20minutes until cream has thickened and cheese is golden.

Thai Pork Meatballs in Coconut Sauce

Got any leftover Thai red curry paste hiding in the back of the fridge or cupboard? This is the perfect way to use it up!

Not too spicy, full of flavour and hidden veg to boot!

Did I mention gluten, dairy and nut free???

Serves 6. Makes 28 meatballs.

Ingredients

60g gluten free fresh breadcrumbs

330g zucchini/courgette

80g fresh coriander/cilantro

4 spring onions/scallions

2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

1 egg

500g minced pork

2 x 270mls coconut milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade.

In a food processor, whizz the bread to make crumbs and tip into a large bowl.

Now grate the zucchini in the processor and again, tip into the bowl with the crumbs.

Next, whizz the coriander, spring onions, soy sauce, curry paste and egg, tip into the bowl.

Add the meat to the bowl and using your hands mix very well. Form into 28 balls.

Lay the balls in a non stick roasting tin as you go along with a little space around each one.

Bake the balls in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Remove and gently move the balls around so they have loosened from the base.

Pour the coconut milk into the tin and swirl around, covering the meatballs, scraping any pan juices into the milk.

Return to the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until the coconut milk is thickened and bubbling.

Garnish with a little leftover coriander.

Swedish Meatballs With Gravy

The challenge was set by my youngest son to come up with a gluten free meatball just like Ikea’s and apparently these are winners. To make them completely authentic I serve them with mashed potato, some green Veg and a dollop of Ikea’s finest lingonberry jam!

The quantity is big but I always think that when you are going to the effort to make meatballs you should always make extra for the freezer, your hands are dirty anyway!

This recipe makes 90 meatballs with sauce and that’s enough to feed 18!!!!!

Freeze the excess in foil trays or ziplock bags with the sauce on them for a quick defrost and bake dinner another night.

Ingredients

MEATBALLS

1kg minced beef

1kg minced pork

150mls milk

60g fresh gluten free breadcrumbs

2 onions, peeled and grated

2 teaspoon dried thyme, ground in a mortar and pestle

3 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons oil

GRAVY

100g butter

6 tablespoons gluten free plain flour

1 tablespoon tomato paste

500mls red wine

1.5 litres beef stock

50mls gluten free Worcestershire sauce

275mls cream

Salt and pepper

Method

Combine the beef, pork, milk, breadcrumbs, onion, thyme, salt and pepper. Use your hands to ensure that it is totally mixed.

Set aside in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.

Form the meat into small balls, set aside on a third baking tray.

Heat a large frying pan, I use a 32cm pan, this is a BIG quantity, over a high heat, add the oil and once hot start frying the meatballs in batches. Cook until coloured all over and then using a slotted spoon, remove and pop them onto the prepared baking trays lined with baking parchment.

Once all of the meatballs are sealed and on the trays slide into the oven and bake for 10 minutes until cooked through.

While the meatballs are cooking make the gravy.

Add the butter to the frying pan, once melted add the flour and tomato paste, cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan.

Now add the wine and stock, whisk over a medium heat for 7 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and cream, heat through.

Remove the meatballs from the oven and either add them to the gravy or place in a serving dish and pour over the gravy. Serve hot.

 At this stage I use foil trays for the meatballs going in the freezer, pour over the gravy, chill and freeze.

Garlic And Fennel Meatballs With Onion And Balsamic Sauce

As a family we love meatballs in sauce but sometimes I want to get away from the rich tomato sauces that the boys favour and this is when I reach for my Balsamic vinegar. By the end of cooking you have a mild vinegar flavour with a lovely sweetness from the onions and Balsamic.

You can make this ahead of time and just do the final simmer or bake before serving.

To make this gluten free I simply use gluten free penne.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1kg minced pork

6 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

salt and pepper

30mls olive oil

4 onions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves plus three sprigs

100mls balsamic vinegar

350mls water

a small handful freshly chopped parsley

Method

Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, fennel, salt and pepper until you have a paste.

In a large bowl, combine the pork, thyme leaves and garlic paste. Use your hands to combine the meat, thyme and paste very well.

Form into small, walnut sized balls, I get around 32 meatballs. Set aside.

In a large oven proof frying pan, heat the oil and add the onions, cook until they are soft.

Tip the onions into a bowl and set aside.

Add a little more oil to the pan if you need it and then add the meatballs, cook over a medium to high heat until they are sealed on all sides.

Return the onions to the pan, add the balsamic vinegar and water and bring up to a simmer, now, you can either cook this on the stove top, around 30 minutes gently bubbling away to reduce the sauce or pop the pan into a preheated, 200 degrees Centigrade, oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve with pasta.