Meatballs are a thing I’ve struggled with all my life, no matter if they are shop-bought, from a restaurant or homemade they have always had a “meaty” taste with very few other flavours.
Now, this recipe is far from the “meaty” bland meatballs I’ve had before, the mozzarella stuffed meatball has a wonderful flavour and the added bonus of the mozzarella is a mild cheesy treat in the middle.
Table of Contents
What if I don’t like…in my meatballs?
Mozzarella
you can use any cheese within reason that you like, cheddar or nice chilli-infused cheese to liven things up a little more.
Beef
Pork mince or turkey mince would be a fine substitution.
Equipment
| Required | Optional |
| Equipment | Salt and pepper grinders (affiliate link) |
| Hand blender (affiliate link) or food processor (affiliate link) | mandoline (affiliate link) |
| 2 saucepans | |
| baking tray (with sides is preferable not required) | |
| chopping boards and knife | |
| mixing bowl | |
| teaspoon, tablespoon |
Storage
Before cooking
It is possible to free the meatballs once formed with the cheese inside, the freezing process will form ice crystals in the cheese so the texture might change, but that shouldn’t be a worry as they will be melting again (inside the meatballs).
I would not keep them for any longer than 2 or 3 months, the cheese can be frozen for up to 6 months by itself, but the minced beef for only up to 3 months.
Ensure they are defrosted in the fridge before cooking.
use your judgement, and ensure they have frozen and defrosted safely before cooking and consuming.
After cooking
Feezing the meatballs after being cooked is a possibility, but I personally wouldn’t as I found it destroys the texture. Better to freeze before cooking and cook raw than a bad texture from reheating.
The sauce can be happily frozen after cooking and will store for a couple of months without issue.
Recipe
Spaghetti and mozzarella stuffed meatballs with a rich tomato sauce
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 125 gram ball mozzarella
- handful of curly leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 large egg yoke
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
- ⅔ teaspoon garlic powder
- generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 500g minced beef
Sauce
- sea salt and freshly ground mixed peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 1 celery sick, finely sliced (I use a [mandoline] from IKEA)
- 1 large carrot, peeled and finely sliced (I use a [mandoline] from IKEA)
- a generous pinch of freshly chopped curly leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon onion granules
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 60g tomato purée
- 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
Pasta
- Dried Spaghetti
Instructions
- Either preheat the oven to 180c or make space in the bottom of your fridge.
- Dived the mozzarella into 9 equal pieces and put them to one side.
- Put all the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl, except the mozzarella and by hand mix together until they are very well incorporated together then dived into 9 equal amounts.
- Take a piece of the meat mixture and place it on your palm, pressing it down to form an almost hand-sized layer of the meatball mixture.
- In the centre place a bit of the mozzarella and fold over the meat, pinching to form a nicely sealed meatball, repeat for the other meatballs placing the finished meatballs on a baking tray and cooking for 20min or chill until required.
- Around this point put the pasta on to cook according to the instructions on the package.
- Once the meatballs are cooking put all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil then if needed add some water and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Now either with your handheld blender or food processor, blend until smooth and return to the pan and put on low heat, once the meatballs are cooked place them in the saucepan give a quick stir to coat them and serve.
