Pork Meatballs with Tomatoes and Spinach Recipe
Pork Meatballs with Tomatoes and Spinach Recipe
- 2 x 2cm thick slices white sourdough bread
- 125ml milk
- 500g pork mince
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon very finely chopped rosemary
- 40g roasted pinenuts
- 60g currants
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
- 400g can chopped tomatoes in juice
- 250ml beef stock
- a large handful baby spinach leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
Rip the bread into small pieces, add the milk, let it soak in then mash well or process in a food processor.
Put the bread mixture, the pork, salt, garlic, rosemary, pinenuts and currants into a mixing bowl and mix well.
Use clean hands to do this.
Then with wet hands, form the mixture into 20 small meatballs about 4cm in diameter and place side by side on a plate.
(I weigh the mixture and divide by 20 then weigh one to gauge how big to make the meatballs)
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over moderate heat and add the meatballs side by side.
Brown the meatballs on each side.
Remove the meatballs from the pan and place side by side in an ovenproof dish.
Remove any loose pinenuts and currants from the pan, place it back over moderate heat and add the onion and fry gently, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft.
Add the tomatoes and stock, mix well and bring to the boil.
Taste and season.
Add this to the meatballs
Place in the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Put the spinach leaves into a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them so they wilt then drain well.
Add the spinach to the tomato and meatball mix, mix well and serve sprinkled with parsley.
Good with rice, lentils, pasta or mashed potatoes.
Serves 4-6