Baked veal and sage meatballs with soft polenta
Australian Gourmet Traveller fast recipe for baked veal and sage meatballs with soft polenta.
- Serves 4
Ingredients
- 50 ml olive oil
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 400 gm canned cherry tomatoes
- 250 ml (1 cup) tomato passata
- 250 gm each minced veal and minced pork
- 40 gm finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus extra to serve
- 20 gm fresh white breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp finely chopped sage, plus extra to serve
- 2 tsp each finely chopped thyme and oregano
Soft polenta
- 500 ml (2 cups) milk
- 180 gm instant polenta
- 30 gm butter, coarsely chopped
- 30 gm Pecorino Romano, finely grated
Method
Main
- 1Preheat oven to 180C. Heat half the oil in a large deep-sided ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat, add onion and half the garlic, stir occasionally until tender (3-4 minutes), add cherry tomatoes and passata and bring to the simmer.
- 2Combine veal, pork, pecorino, breadcrumbs, herbs and remaining garlic in a bowl, season to taste, mix well with your hands and roll into 2cm-diameter balls. Heat remaining oil in a large frying pan, add meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over (1-2 minutes). Add to tomato sauce, transfer to oven and bake until tender (10-12 minutes).
- 3Meanwhile, for soft polenta, bring milk and 600ml water to the boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Gradually add polenta while whisking continuously until thick (2-3 minutes). Add butter and pecorino, season generously to taste and whisk to combine.
- 4Serve polenta, meatballs and sauce hot, scattered with extra pecorino and sage.
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