Meat Cheesy Balls
This is an easy recipe and a very tasty one. Little bites of minced meat with cheddar, parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley can make a Sunday lunch or a simple get together very feisty!
You can fry them or (as I did) bake them in the oven.
You can increase the size and serve them with a mixed salad or with some potatoes as side dish and you have a nice meat main course.
Serve: 40/50 pieces
Preparation: 50 minutes (30 minutes to let the meat mixture rest in the fridge).
Cooking: 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
500gr lean minced meat (organic if you prefer)
2 eggs - slightly beaten
50gr parmesan cheese
50gr cheddar cut into very small pieces (mature cheddar if you like it)
Stale bread
Parsley, fresh - 1 handful
Thyme, fresh - 5/6 sprigs
Garlic 1 clove crushed
Breadcrumbs
Salt, pepper.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C fan.
Cut the bread into small pieces and blend it with the garlic, thyme and parsley to a medium crumbly, smooth mixture.
In a big bowl put the meat, eggs, cheddar and parmesan cheese, the bread mixture, salt and pepper and mix all together quite carefully and thoroughly with a fork.
Put the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes covered with some cling film.
Create some little balls (I made about 40/50) or the same size.
Roll them in breadcrumbs and add them on top of a baking tray covered with parchment paper.
Make sure to keep them separate so they do not stick together.
Bake for 30 minutes and serve warm!
* If you want to fry them, Heat some oil in a deep pan and when it reached 180 degree heat (check with a cooking thermometer) fry for 2/3 minutes. Add only a few meat balls at a time so the oil temperature does not go down.
Once golden and ready drain them and put on a tray with some kitchen paper to absorb any unwanted oil.
Notes:
You can keep them in the fridge for 2/3 days covered with cling film or in an airtight container.
You can also add some chilli to the meat mixture if you like.
