Baked meatballs with fresh tomato sauce
Ingredients
800g lean beef mince
250g frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed
Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season
2 free-range eggs
250g fresh ricotta
Cooking oil spray
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp capers, chopped
500g tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 bunch basil, leaves picked
Mixed salad leaves, to serve
Method
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Preheat oven to 200°C. Put beef and spinach in a large bowl. Mix well. Season. Add eggs and 100g of the ricotta. Knead until smooth. Divide into 36 balls, then flatten into discs.
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Roll the remaining ricotta, 1 heaped ½ teaspoon at a time, into 36 balls. Wrap each in a portion of beef mixture. Put meatballs in a 24 x 34cm roasting pan. Spray with oil. Roast for 15 minutes.
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Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add onion, garlic and capers and fry for 5 minutes to soften. Add tomatoes, cooking for 5 more minutes, then crush with a fork. Season then mix in ½ of the basil.
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Pour over meatballs. Roast for 10 minutes. Garnish with remaining basil. Serve with salad.
