Spanish-style meatballs
Inspired by Spanish-style tapas, our meatballs - coated in a rich, hidden vege tomato sauce -are a treat. Serve with crispy golden wedges for a value friendly and kid friendly meal that’s sure to impress even the fussiest eaters.
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 500g lean beef mince
- 3 garlic cloves, grated or 1 ½ teaspoons crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
- Pepper, to taste
Tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- ½ celery*, sliced thinly or cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon sweet or smoked paprika
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 large carrots, cubed or grated
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Potato wedges
- 800g potatoes, cut into thick slices
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Your favourite herbs and spices (optional)
* These ingredients are shared with other recipes from the weekly meal planner.
Method
- Heat oven to 190C bake or 170C fan bake and prepare a large roasting tray or baking dish.
- Toss the potato wedges ingredients together in a bowl until coated in oil and flavouring. Transfer onto the roasting tray or baking dish, spread onto a single layer and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked to your liking. While this bakes, continue cooking the rest of the dish.
- Combine the meatball ingredients in a bowl. Roll mince into golf ball sized rounds and place onto a board or plate. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan with deep sides or skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Sauté onions until softened, add celery and stir fry for another 5 minutes to soften. Add paprika and fry for a minute.
- Pour in chopped tomatoes carefully, fill each can with ¾ cup water, swirl around to get the remaining sauce and add to the pan or skillet. Add carrots, cover with a lid, and bring to a simmer while stirring occasionally.
- Add meatballs and lightly stir until coated in the tomato sauce. Cover with a lid and simmer until the meatballs are cooked, stir gently occasionally to make sure the bottom doesn’t catch.
- Test taste and season with salt, pepper, or other spices if needed. Serve tomato meatballs with wedges on the side.
Skill level: Easy as
Cooking tips
- For extra crispy wedges, par boil cut potatoes and cool completely in the fridge, gently coat in the oil and seasoning ingredients and bake in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes.
Adapt it
- Use chicken, lamb, or pork mince if you prefer. You could also make vegetarian meat balls using plant-based proteins and use these instead.
- Add extra veg to this dish by mixing a packet of very finely chopped mushrooms to the mince before rolling into meatballs.
Kid friendly alternatives
- You can cook the celery and carrots in the tomato sauce until they are very soft and then blend the sauce until smooth before adding the meatballs.
Leftover tips
- Eat for lunch the next day or freeze in portions and reheat another day.