This is a quick weeknight dinner idea, with a bunch of warm flavours. Featuring a pork base, this recipe is further flavoured using stilton and apples. I held back on the stilton a bit with my recipe, mainly because I find it can be quite overpowering otherwise, however, you can definitely go ahead and add more if you please.
To accompany the meatballs, I personally went with a simple mash potatoes, gravy, and plenty of steamed vegetables. I don't think you can go too wrong!
The below recipe will make around 26 meatballs and feed around 5-6 people (depending on how you choose to portion things out).
Ingredients
Meatballs
1kg minced pork
1 large apple
100gr stilton, chopped finely (or grated, if possible)
1 tspn dried thyme
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 eggs
50gr breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mashed Potatoes
1kg potatoes
1 tbsp cooking salt
70gr butter
1/2 - 3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 tspn ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste
Gravy
60gr butter
4 tbsp flour
3-4 cups boiling water
Vegetable stock cube
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
1. To make the meatballs. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius. Grate the apple on a box grater. Chop the stilton extremely finely, or if possible, grate it.
2. In a large bowl, add the minced pork, apple, stilton, thyme, worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste. Mix until well combined. Add salt and pepper.
3. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the meat mixture. Add in the breadcrumbs. If the mixture remains too wet, feel free to add more breadcrumbs a tablespoon at a time. The mixture's consistency should allow for the balls to hold their shape easily.
4. Add in the parsley and mix well.
5. Place a large pan on medium heat and drizzle some oil. Once the oil has warmed up, portion out the mixture using an ice cream scoop, so they're more or less the same size. This will allow for even cooking. Form into balls between your palms.
6. Place the meatballs into the hot pan and cook on each side for around 2-3 minutes. Keep a close eye as they will start to brown extremely quickly. Do not fret if they get too much colour - it's the cheese that's to blame for this, and as long as they're not left on each side for longer than 3 minutes on medium heat, they shouldn't actually burn. We do not want the meatballs to cook through in the pan.
7. Place the meatballs in an ovenproof dish and cover in foil, and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until just cooked through. Do not leave in the oven for longer, as otherwise, they will dry out. It is imperative that they are covered in foil to ensure they do not burn.
8. To make the mashed potatoes. Peel the potatoes and wash well. Chop into similar sized cubes. Contrary to popular belief, chopping the potatoes up too small will work against you, despite the time you save to boil them.
9. Place the potatoes in a pot of water and add the tablespoon of cooking salt. Cook until just tender then drain.
10. Place the potatoes back into the pot (to save on dishes), and add the butter, milk, nutmeg, and some salt and pepper to taste. Mash until smooth.
11. To make the gravy. Boil 4-5 cups of water and add the vegetable stock cube. Allow to dissolve completely.
12. In a small pot, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and the flour has completely dissolved.
13. Add around a third of the vegetable stock to the pot and whisk. The mixture will be quite thick at this point. Add another third, and whisk. If at your desired consistency, stop here. I personally go ahead and add the final third, leaving it on medium heat for around 5 minutes.
14. Serve all three elements warm.
Recreating this recipe? Tag me on instagram @juliawgr.
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