Balls of Meaty Fun!
Beef, basil & sun-dried tomato Meatballs
It is uncertain when exactly meatballs were invented however their presence dates back to ancient times. They were originally made from ground meat mixed with cereal/spice fillers, also known as sausage or forcemeat. So essentially, they have not evolved much! And now, time for today’s random food fact!
Did you know that, originally Italian-America restaurants did not serve meatballs with their spaghetti? The meatballs were added later to satisfy Amerca's hunger for red meat."
---American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter: New York] 1997(p. 183)
Aah! Nothing like random trivia to inspire you to get cooking!
Beef, basil and sun-dried tomato Meatballs
Ingredients: 500g beef mince, 1/3 cup basil chopped, 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato chopped, 3 cloves garlic finely chopped, 1 egg, 1/3 cup bread crumbs, salt and pepper
Steps: Preheat the oven to moderate, 180 degrees Celsius. Chop the basil, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic finely. Transfer the beef mince to a large bowl. Add the basil; sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, egg and breadcrumbs. Then using hands mix to combine together. Roll into balls and place onto oven trays lined with baking paper approximately 2cm apart. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Makes 30
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