9th March - Meatball day
This national holiday is dedicated to celebrating the time-honoured dish of Meatballs in all its meaty tomatoey glory. Loved the world over, meatballs date back thousands of years and have since been enjoyed on every continent and in every country for generations.
Made in all different shapes and sizes, served with and without sauces, meatballs are a versatile dish that are hard not to like. Different versions include Spanish albondigas, Italian polpette, Dutch bitterballen, Polish pulpety, Chinese “lion heads”, South African skilpedjies, Swedish köttbullar and Asian/Middle-Eastern kofte.
There really are countless versions of this delicious dish, but for our recipe we decided to go with the popular classic Italian-American version.
We gave our MG301 meat grinder a whirl to see if we could make meatballs from scratch in our own kitchen… and as you’ll see, not only was it easy-peasy, they also came out looking great! We then used our HP2BK hotplate to cook them with a succulent tomato sauce and spaghetti pasta to serve with them.
The result: a gorgeous plate of delicious spaghetti and meatballs Homemade meatballs, just the way mama used to make them!
Making your own meatballs with the MG301
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
🥄 900g pork / lamb / beef (or a mixture) cut into 2cm chunks
🥄 2 tsp kosher salt or rock salt
🥄 1/2 tsp black pepper
🥄 2 tsp onion powder
🥄 2 tsp garlic powder
🥄 2 tsp paprika
🥄 1 tsp dried thyme
🥄 1 tsp ground coriander
🥄 1 tsp ground cumin
Method
1. Setup your meat grinder and attach the correct mincing plate. Place a bowl under the machine ready to catch your minced meat.
2. Place the diced meat onto the hopper plate, switch on the machine and carefully push the meat into the grinder opening. Grind all of your meat into the bowl.
3. When you've finished grinding your meat, switch the machine off.
4. Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, thyme, coriander and cumin to the bowl. Mix well to ensure all the flavours infuse the meat.
5. Using wet hands, shape your mixture into balls and set aside. Depending on how you like your meatballs, this mixture will make 6 large or 12 small meatballs.
Making your own tomato sauce and pasta to accompany meatballs
Ingredients
For the sauce:
🥄 2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin if possible)
🥄 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
🥄 2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
🥄 2 tbsp red wine vinegar (optional)
🥄 1 tbsp caster sugar
🥄 1 tbsp of fresh parsley (finely chopped)
🥄 1/2 tbsp of fresh basil (chopped)
To serve:
Parmesan shavings
Small handful of fresh basil
Method
1. Add the crushed garlic cloves to the meatball pan and cook for 1 minute.
2. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, red wine (if using), sugar, parsley. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
3. Simmer the sauce for 25-30 mins until slightly
thickened.
4. Lastly, stir in the chopped basil.
💡Tip: If you are batch cooking and want to save some for later, now is the time to spoon out some and freeze for later.
4. Place the spaghetti into a saucepan of boiling water, add a generous pinch of salt and a drop of olive oil. Cook as per the instructions on the pack.
5. Spoon the spaghetti onto plates, then add the meatballs on top along with some extra sauce from the pan.
💡Tip: If you prefer, you can combine the pasta with meatballs and sauce in one pan before serving.
To serve:
Add grated or shaved parmesan to the top and garnish with torn basil leaves.
Products we used to make this dish
