Meatballs baked in Tomato sauce on Polenta

When I saw this recipe on one of my favourite blogs, Souvlaki for the Soul, a while ago, I knew I’d be giving it a go soon. I was just waiting for a cold day where the only comfort can be found in a bowl filled with delicious food.

This recipe combines two of my absolute favourite things; Meatballs and soft polenta. I am a little obsessed with Polenta and I try to make use of this simple, versatile ingredient as much as possible during the colder months. It is perfect served with saucy, meaty dishes. I’ve heard a lot of people saying they don’t like polenta because of the texture and this is simply because they have not used enough liquid and they haven’t cooked the polenta for long enough. When undercooked, polenta will be quite grainy but when cooked properly, the grains are allowed to swell fully and the texture is rich, creamy and scrumptious.

For the meatballs, I used the same recipe as for my Cheesy Meatballs baked in tomato sauce but left out the cheese as I wanted to top the finished dish with lots of grated Pecorino and fresh parsley. The end result was a delicious bowl of comfort food, perfect for the colder months.

5 from 1 vote

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Meatballs baked in Tomato sauce on Polenta

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Course: Entree, Main

Servings: 4 -6

Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

for the meatballs

• 500 g beef mince
• 1 onion finely chopped and sauteed
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• squeeze of lemon juice
• salt & black pepper to taste

for the sauce

• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 x 400g tin tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• salt & pepper to taste

for the polenta

• 1 cup polenta
• 2 cups stock
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 50 ml cream
• salt to taste

to serve

• Pecorino grated
• fresh parsley finely chopped

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
2. For the meatballs, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
3. Combine all the sauce ingredients and pour into a deep roasting dish/casserole dish.
4. Form medium sized meatballs and place into the roasting dish.
5. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly and the meatballs are cooked.
6. To make the polenta, bring the stock and milk to a simmer and whisk in the polenta. Continue whisking until the polenta has started thickening then turn down the heat and allow the polenta to gently cook for 10-15 minutes.
7. Add the butter, cream and season with salt.
8. Serve the polenta with the meatballs and sauce topped with grated Pecorino and parsley.