As a pescatarian I am always excited to see recipes that substitute meat for fish and this Jamie Oliver recipe does not disappoint. It's taken from Jamie's Italy recipe book which I managed to find in a charity shop for just £1.49. If you can get your hands on it then I highly recommend having buying it or borrowing it from your local library as you are sure to get some ideas for a number of tasty treats from it. This recipe for "the best meatballs ever" was fairly easy to follow, the only thing I would mention is make sure you have done all of your washing up before you start as I made this mistake and was already wrist deep in meatball mixture.
For the tomato sauce you will need:
- olive oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes
- sea salt and black pepper
- a small bunch of flat leaf parsley
- optional: red wine vinegar
For the meatballs you will need:
- 400g/14oz tuna
- olive oil
- 55g/2oz pinenuts
- 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- a small bunch of flat leaf parsley
- 100g/3.5oz of stale breadcrumbs
- 55g/2oz grated Parmesan
- 2 eggs
- zest and juice of one lemon
The first thing to do is to make the sauce. Do this by placing a large pan on the heat and add olive oil, onion and garlic and fry slowly for 10 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the oregano, tomatoes, salt and pepper to this and bring to the boil. Simmer this for 15 minutes and then liquidize with a blender until there are no lumps and bumps. This is where you would add the red wine vinegar. Unfortunately I didn't have any in stock so I couldn't add it but I do think it would compliment the sauce well.
Meanwhile, chop the tuna and cut up into small cubes. Pour a generous serving of olive oil into a hot pain and add the tuna, pine nuts and cinnamon. This is where the kitchen starts to fill with a warm, spicy aroma which really makes your tummy rumble. Once the tuna is cooked on all sides, remove from the heat and add to a bowl in order for it to cool. This should take about 5 minutes, then add the oregano, parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, eggs, lemon zest, and juice to the bowl. Now wash your hands thoroughly and roll up your sleeves as things are about to get messy. Mix the ingredients together with your hands until you are able to squeeze the mixture together into a meatball around the same size as a golf ball. A super tip that Jamie offers in this book is to dip one of your hands into water whilst shaping the meatball to get a smooth surface. I tried this and it worked really well and gave them a professional looking finish. If your mixture is too sticky then do not be afraid to add a handful of extra breadcrumbs. Place the meatballs on an oiled tray and keep them in the fridge for an hour or so to let them rest.
During this hour I managed to sink a couple of bottles of wine with my mom and aunty before I suddenly remembered the meatballs would be ready. They were the perfect end to the night as they only require a quick shallow fry until they are brown all over. However, I am afraid to say there are no photographs of the end result as we were all in too much of a hurry to try them. They were delicious thought and got rave reviews all around. Of course it is only fair to make them again minus the addition of wine to see if they live up to my expectations and I have no doubts that they will surpass.
