Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella and Pasta Sauce

I have been dreaming up this recipe for most of this year, and dare I say my first attempt bordered on perfection. Earlier this year (before we were confined to our homes), my best friend and I took a trip to The States; a two week spectacular which involved my first trip to Disneyland, which was quite possibly the best four days of my entire life. At the end of our trip we spent a few days in Malibu in hopes of living out our ultimate Miley Cyrus fantasy. We stayed at the most beautiful boutique hotel (Surfrider Malibu, please sponsor me), and ate all our meals at the rooftop restaurant, because after one dinner, it made absolutely no sense to go anywhere else. Among some of the best food I've ever eaten was a cast iron skillet of meatballs, baked in a bubbling tomato sauce and covered in melted mozzarella. It had never occurred to me that you can serve meatballs without pasta; because let's face it, all meals should be served with pasta, but this was perfect with a side of crusty garlic bread and extra Pecorino Romano grated over the top.

For this recipe you'll need some day old, good quality bread that has been soaked in milk. Simply rip up the bread, and add it to around a cup of milk. No need to do this in a crazy amount of time in advance - I like to do this as my first step, and by the time the rest of the ingredients have been prepared, the bread will have soaked up most of the milk. This ensures a soft, moist meatball without adding any excess liquid.

I also used a "Bolognese mince" from Coles, which is just 50% pork mince, and 50% beef mince. You can also ask your butcher for this combo. Using just pork seems to give the meatballs a bit of a greasy taste, and pure beef mince will make the meatballs too heavy, so using a blend provides the perfect balance between moisture, flavour, and density.

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:

• 500g Pork/Beef Mince Blend

• 1 Egg

• 1/2 Cup Day Old Bread, Soaked in Milk

• 1/2 Cup Grated Pecorino Romano, plus extra for topping

• 2 Garlic Cloves, grated

For the Sauce:

• 1 Bottle Passata

• 1 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

• 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

• 1 Tbs Rice Bran Oil

• 100g Cherry Bocconcini

Let's Bake These Meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and heat a heavy based saucepan on low heat.

2. To make the sauce, add oil, garlic, and chilli. Slowly fry until aromatic and add passata.

3. Stir thoroughly, and allow to simmer. Add water if the sauce becomes too thick too quickly.

4. To make the meatballs, add all ingredients to a food processor and blitz until combined.

5. Roll out meat mixture into golf ball sized balls. Be careful not to pack these too tightly, as this will result in a meatball that is too tough.

6. Half fill serving dishes with sauce, and place four meatballs into each dish. Cover the tops of the meatballs with extra sauce and sprinkle extra Pecorino Romano over the top.

7. Cut bocconcini balls in half and distribute amongst the dishes, making sure they are submerged in the sauce.

8. Place dishes on a baking tray and put in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until meatballs are completely cooked through.

9. Allow meatballs to cool slightly before serving with crunchy bread or garlic bread.