Cheesy Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Name: Cheesy Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1 onion, chopped; 2 slices bacon, chopped; 500 g beef mince; 1/4 cup breadcrumbs; 2 tablespoons parsley, roughly chopped; 1 egg, lightly beaten; salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 125 g cheddar cheese, cut into 1cm cubes; 2 (400 g) cans diced roma tomatoes; 1/2 cup roughly torn basil leaves; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 small red fresh chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional); salt & freshly ground black pepper, extra, to taste; crusty bread or roll, to serve

Submitted by Tisme

"All done in the microwave. Serve on their own or over pasta. A great dish to serve with a light green salad and fresh crusty bread or garlic bread."

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photo by I'mPat

Ready In:: 1hr
Ingredients:: 15
Serves:: 4

ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 slices bacon, chopped
500 g beef mince
¹⁄₄ cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons parsley, roughly chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
125 g cheddar cheese, cut into 1cm cubes
2 (400 g) cans diced roma tomatoes
¹⁄₂ cup roughly torn basil leaves
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 small red fresh chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
salt & freshly ground black pepper, extra, to taste
crusty bread or roll, to serve

directions

Cook the onion and bacon in a large bowl on high for 3-4 minutes approx 850W. Remove from microwave, add mince, breadcrumbs, parsley, egg, salt and pepper and mix well.
Take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and flatten into a patty shape.
Place a cube of cheese in the middle of the meat, fold meat to enclose cheese and roll to form a ball.
Refrigerate meatballs for 10-15 minutes.
Place meatballs in a 3 Litre casserole dish. Cook uncovered on medium to High approx 650W for 4-6 minutes. Turn meatballs over and cook for a further 4-6 minutes.
Meanwhile combine the tomatoes, basil, tomato paste, chilli, garlic and salt and pepper in a bowl.
Drain any excess fat from meatballs after cooking and pour the tomato mixture over par cooked and drained meatballs.
Cook uncovered on medium high approx 650W for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with on their own with crusty bread or over pasta.

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Reviews

I loved these but did not use microwave - I did it all in big pot on stove top and it worked wonderfully. I served this with white rice. I added some tomatoes,basil and other herbs from the garden plus a zucchini. It was delicious.

katew
We don't own a microwave, so I cooked the bacon and onion in a frying pan on the stove top. I then cooked the assembled meatballs in the same pan. Lastly I made the sauce in an ovenproof dish, popped the meatballs into it and baked them uncovered in a moderate oven for 30 minutes. I used the chilli, added a tablespoon of brown sugar and served this over pasta. The fresh basil was great in this and even made my way, it was super easy and very tasty thanks Tisme.

JustJanS
This is the first time I have done a complete dish from beginning to end in the microwave and as very pleased with the outcome. I weighed up each piece of mince so that I knew they would be uniform (35 grams each for 20 balled), though I only used 75 grams of the cheese (I had 32 pieces) and I was a little concerned about using 2 cans of tomatoes thinking it would be too much and the meatballs would be swimming in it but it was perfect and added some dried basil (our basil bushes have suddenly died on us and some red chilli flakes to give a little heat) and served over linguine with a salad and cruncy bread. Thank you Tisme, made for Please Make My Recipe tag game. UPDATE - left overs went great in a sandwich and a sub.

I'mPat