My kids love this meatball recipe, no wait…everyone loves this meatball recipe. It’s dead easy and really tasty and a great quick mid week or weekend no fuss ready in 20mins meal. Also, it binds well and seldom falls apart in the pan, tres annoying when THAT happens.

This is again from my first ever cook book “Meals in minutes” by Ainsley Harrison. The book was a gift for Easter from my Mam and Dad in 1998! Chances are if you’ve dined at our house you’ve had this meal! It too has been subject to being primaled up. Here goes:

Ingredients:

- 30g Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
- 4 salad onions (spring onions)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 red chili
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 400g organic free-range pork mince, beef, lamb, or a combination
- 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil
- 100ml red wine (organic and preservative-free, if possible)
- Zucchini noodles or any other vegetable or kelp (seaweed) noodles
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup of any stock or water
- 1 bay leaf
- Pinch of coconut sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cut the Parmesan into 1.5cm cubes and grate it by using the food processor or a grater. TM 10 secs SP9. Set aside the grated cheese.

2. Add the garlic to the food processor and roughly chop the salad onions (spring onions) and red chili. Then, finely chop all these ingredients in the food processor for about 3 seconds on speed 6. TM 3 secs SP6.

3. Add the organic free-range pork mince, beef, lamb, or combination of meats to the food processor. Combine the ingredients until they are well mixed. TM REVERSE 10 secs SP4

4. Take the mixture and roll it into small firm balls to form the meatballs.

5. Heat the ghee or coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs to the pan and cook them for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan frequently to ensure they brown evenly.

6. Pour in the red wine and let it bubble vigorously for 1-2 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the zucchini noodles or any other vegetable or kelp noodles using a spiralizer or a potato peeler to get strips of veggies.

8. Stir the chopped tomatoes, stock (or water), bay leaf, coconut sugar, salt, and pepper into the meatballs. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 8-10 minutes until the meatballs are fully cooked and the sauce has thickened.

9. To serve, place the zucchini noodles on a plate and spoon the meatballs with the sauce over them. The hot sauce will warm up the zoodles. Sprinkle liberally with extra grated Parmesan cheese and serve with a large green salad.

Enjoy! Love,  H xx