Baked meatballs are one of my favourite comfort foods, and this is a great recipe to prep in advance. If making ahead of time, stop just before putting the cheese on top and when you’re reheating simply resume from this point!
I’ve often made this in advance for when friends are coming over, and it always goes down a treat with everyone. It’s not that common to see meatballs being served with quinoa but since trying it for the first time years ago I haven’t looked back as it’s so good. The quinoa acts as a great vehicle for soaking up the yummy sauce of the meatballs, and it’s a really nutritious, high-protein grain so I love using it instead of rice.
Baked cheesy meatballs with quinoa
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 300g quinoa
- 450ml boiling water, mixed with 1 tsp vegetable bouillon (Dr Coy’s)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
For the Meatballs
- 500g good-quality minced beef
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 70g breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 30g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 200g mozzarella cheese, grated
- 80g mascarpone cheese
For the Tomato Sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1kg tomato passata
- 2 heaped tbsp tomato purée
- 200ml red wine
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To Serve
- 1 handful of chopped fresh parsley
Method
1. Put the quinoa in a jug and soak in cold water for at least 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Put the minced beef, crushed garlic, breadcrumbs, fennel seeds, oregano, Parmesan and egg in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Mix everything together really well, then use your hands to shape into golfball-sized balls. Put the meatballs in the fridge for 20 minutes while you make the sauce.
3. Put the bay leaves, tomato passata, tomato purée and red wine in an ovenproof casserole pot and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat.
4. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
5. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the meatballs (if they don’t all fit in the pan, brown them in batches). Cook the meatballs until well browned on all sides then, using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the meatballs into the pot with the tomato sauce. Mix carefully to cover the meatballs in the sauce. Cover the pot with a lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
6. Mix together the grated mozzarella and the mascarpone until well combined.
7. After 20 minutes, take the pot out of the oven, remove the lid and add spoonfuls of the mozzarella and mascarpone mixture over the tomato sauce around the meatballs.
8. Put the pot back into the oven with the lid off this time and cook for a further 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.
9. While the meatballs finish cooking, drain the quinoa through a sieve and place in a saucepan. Add the boiling water with the bouillon and turmeric, and give it a good stir. Simmer gently for 12–15 minutes with a lid on until all the water has been absorbed.
10. Remove from the heat and let the quinoa dry steam in the saucepan with the lid on for a few more minutes. This step ensures the quinoa doesn’t turn out soggy.
11. Serve the cheesy meatballs with the cooked quinoa and top with some freshly chopped parsley.