Cheesy Italian Meatballs

Name: Cheesy Italian Meatballs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon olive oil; 1 carrot, grated; 1/2 onion, finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 (700 ml) bottle tomato passata or 1 (700 ml) reduced salt crushed tomatoes; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 1/2 cup water; 400 g lean ground beef; 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumb; 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped; 1 egg, lightly beaten; salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 100 g low-fat cheddar cheese, cut into 2cm cubes; 1/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese, for serving; chopped parsley, for serving

Submitted by Tisme

"Another great find in my Dairy Australia Cookbook. My teenager's loved this."

Download

photo by I'mPat

Ready In:: 50mins
Ingredients:: 15
Serves:: 6

ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 carrot, grated
¹⁄₂ onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (700 ml) bottle tomato passata or (700 ml) reduced salt crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
¹⁄₂ cup water
400 g lean ground beef
¹⁄₂ cup fresh breadcrumb
¹⁄₄ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
100 g low-fat cheddar cheese, cut into 2cm cubes
¹⁄₄ cup shaved parmesan cheese, for serving
chopped parsley, for serving

directions

Heat the oil in a heavy based casserole dish and add only half the carrot, onion, and garlic. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes until softened. Stir in passata, tomato paste and water, simmer for 5 minutes.
For the meatballs: Combine the remaining carrot, onion and garlic with mince, breadcrumbs, parsley, egg and seasonings. Knead thoroughly with your hands until the mixture is very sticky, shape the mixture into golf ball sized balls and stuff each with one cube of cheddar ensuring that the cheese is fully enclosed. (Moistening your hands with water helps here in shaping the balls).
Drop the meatballs into the simmering sauce, cook over low heat, covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve meatballs sprinkled with parsley and parmesan, over spaghetti or just accompanied with seasonal vegetables or a salad.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!

Reviews

My first time making meatballs with cheese in them, I used a sharp cheddar and also the first time cooking them in the sauce, normally bake them in the oven and pour sauce over them. Though I think the serving size may be closer 4 than 6 - I got 14 balls weighing 40 grams each and used 75 grams of cheese and we had 3 balls left over, I used a herbed tomato sucro, so would possible suggest the addition of herbs to the sauce if using a plain tomato one. All in all a quick a easy recipe to put together, I made the meatballs earliery in the day and just had everything ready to go and in 20 minutes dinner was on the table. I served recipe #404883 as my side. Thank you Tisme, made for Make My Recipe - Edition 16.

I'mPat