Family Recipes - Evelyn’s Meatballs

My mother Evelyn is a very good cook, but since I started writing cookery books she prefers to come round to my house and raid my fridge. She and I are very close and I always value her opinion on new recipes that I create. I know when family recipes are good because it soon goes missing.

These sweet and sour meatballs were whisked off to her house in no time – they are delicious served on a bed of rice.

 

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Red meat provides the most easily absorbed form of iron. Fortified cereals and wholemeal bread are good sources of iron, however it is difficult for our bodies to absorb iron from a non-meat source, so to improve the absorption of iron from a plant source you will need to include vitamin C rich fruit like kiwi or berry fruits or vitamin C rich juice like orange juice or cranberry juice.

 

Meatballs

450g (1 lb) lean minced beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 apple, peeled and grated
50g (2 oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 chicken stock cube, finely crumbled
30ml (2 tbsp) cold water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
30ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil for frying

 

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
50g (2 oz) chopped red pepper
1 X 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp malt vinegar
4 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tsp brown sugar

 

Method

Mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs and chop for a few seconds in a food processor. Using floured hands, form into about 20 meatballs. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the meatballs turning occasionally for 10 to 12 minutes, until browned and sealed.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce, mix together the soy sauce and cornflour in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion for 3 minutes. Add the red pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, vinegar and sugar, season with freshly ground black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs, cover and simmer until cooked through (about 5 minutes).

 

Information

Suitable for freezing
MAKES 5 PORTIONS

Both my 10 month and 3 year old loved this and their fussy Dad too! But we all thought it'd be better with pasta as the sauce is quite tomatoey and so doesn't seem to go that well with the rice.

 

Me and my 2 year old son loved this dish, our favourite thanks you mmmmm

 

We LOVE this recipe. It takes a bit of prep but is well worth it. Very tasty. Never any left!