Rather than losing the meatballs in a vat of tomato sauce, I love to serve them on top of pasta simply tossed in creamy leeks (cooked slowly in butter and white wine with a touch of cream). Top the finished dish with a grating of pecorino cheese and you have a very happy bowl of Sicilian heaven.
Ingredients
Olive Oil and Butter
1 Large Onion, diced
3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
Salt and Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds
75g Breadcrumbs
Fine zest of a Lemon
1 tablespoon Fresh Thyme, roughly chopped
500g Pork Mince
450g Sausage meat
1 egg
- Heat a glug of olive oil and a knob of butter in a frying pan until bubbling, then add the diced onion and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper.
- Turn the heat down and cook slowly for about 10 minutes until the onion is soft, add the garlic and cook for another few minutes, then turn the heat off and allow to cool.
- Heat a small dry frying pan then tip in the fennel seeds. Toast the seeds for a few minutes, shaking the pan around until they are starting to smell aromatic and nutty. Transfer them to a pestle and pound them into a powder (if you don't have a pestle and mortar you can crush the seeds on a chopping board with a rolling pin).
- Put the pork mince and the sausage meat into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked and cooled onion, the pounded fennel seeds, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, thyme and egg. With a fork mix everything together lightly but thoroughly until all the ingredients are incorporated evenly through the mixture.
- Shape them into balls about the same size as golf balls, you should get approximately 18. They can now be chilled until you need them or cook them straight away.
- Preheat the oven to 220C (fan).
- Lightly oil a large baking tray and place the meatballs on it, evenly spaced. Roast for 15 minutes then turn the meatballs and return to the oven for another 10 minutes until the meatballs are golden brown, sizzling and cooked all the way through.
