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Squidgy meatballs

Name: Squidgy meatballs
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 800g beef mince; 200g dried breadcrumbs; 80g freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve; 3 Tbsp tomato purée; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp dried basil; 20 mozzarella pearls; Pinch each salt and black pepper; To serve cooked spaghetti; 30g butter; 1 garlic clove, chopped; 1 white onion, chopped; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 Tbsp tomato purée; 800g canned chopped tomatoes canned chopped tomatoes; Small handful freshly chopped basil; Pinch each salt and black pepper

for 4 people

By Miranda Ballard

So called because they have a mozzarella pearl centre so they go super squidgy when you cook them!

800g	beef mince
200g	dried breadcrumbs
80g	freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
3 Tbsp	tomato purée
1 tsp	dried oregano
1 tsp	dried basil
20	mozzarella pearls
Pinch each	salt and black pepper
To serve	cooked spaghetti

30g	butter
1	garlic clove, chopped
1	white onion, chopped
1 tsp	ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp	tomato purée
800g canned chopped tomatoes	canned chopped tomatoes
Small handful	freshly chopped basil
Pinch	each salt and black pepper

To make the tomato sauce: Melt half the butter in a pan over a high heat and fry the onion and garlic for 4–5 minutes, until brown. Add the cinnamon and stir well. Add the tomato purée and stir for a couple of minutes, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and stir well. Add some salt and pepper, and the basil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes to thicken.
Meanwhile, mix the beef mince, breadcrumbs, parmesan, tomato purée, oregano, basil and some salt and pepper in a bowl with your hands, making sure they combine really well.
Divide the mixture into 20 even portions (about 55g each), then round each one in your hand and flatten on the work surface. Place a mozzarella pearl in the middle of each one and fold the meat around to seal it in.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Remove the tomato sauce from the heat and either keep it chunky or use an electric hand mixer to whizz it up to make it really smooth.
Transfer the sauce to an ovenproof dish and set aside. Return the pan to the stovetop (there's no need to clean it) and set it over a high heat. Put the other half of the butter in (don't worry about any of the sauce that remains stuck to the sides of the pan, as it will all mix together!). Fry the meatballs for 8 minutes, being careful to stir them gently so the mozzarella stays safely in the middle, until the outsides are browning. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Serve with spaghetti and top with a sprinkle of parmesan and a pinch of black pepper.

Serves: 4

Edited extract from Cluck Oink Baa Moo by Miranda Ballard, published by Ryland Peters & Small. Photography by Steve Painter, distributed by bookreps.co.nz, RRP $39.99