Lunch/Dinner Quick and Easy Meatballs

Serves : 6

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 1hr

Quick Easy Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients

  • 600g beef mince
  • 1 tbsp freshly chopped thyme
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 50g breadcrumbs
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 300ml hot chicken or light beef stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 courgette, finely chopped
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Make the sauce. Heat the oil in a pan and gently cook the onion, celery and carrots, covered with a lid, over a low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring every now and then.

  2. Add the tomatoes, stock and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.

  3. Mix all the ingredients together for the meatballs. Shape into 30 balls, each about the size of a golf ball. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the meatballs in batches until golden all over.

  4. Drop into the sauce with the courgette and continue to cook for 15 minutes until tender and cooked through.

  5. Measure the rice in a jug and note the volume. Pour this volume of water into a pan, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Add the rice, then turn the heat down low and simmer following the timings on the packet until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is cooked.

  6. Spoon the rice into a bowl and sprinkle with the parsley. Spoon the meatballs into a separate bowl and serve with the rice.