Beef meatballs in tomato sauce with mash

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The method

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1. 01

   Step 1. Prepare vegetables and clean garnish

   Peel and chunk potatoes, finely chop onion and prepare garlic and parsley. Keep half the parsley clean and separate for serving. In the small bowl, stir breadcrumbs with the milk listed for the breadcrumb mixture and leave for around 2 minutes while measuring the remaining ingredients. Do not use the separate mash milk here.

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2. 02

   Step 2. Shape the meatballs

   Put raw mince, soaked crumbs, half the garlic, the meatball half of the parsley and optional pepper in the mixing bowl. Mix gently just until combined. Divide into four equal balls per selected serving, about 4 cm across, keeping sizes similar. Do not taste the raw mixture. Wash hands and clean raw-meat contact surfaces and utensils before touching cooked food or the reserved garnish.

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3. 03

   Step 3. Start the potatoes

   Cover the prepared potatoes with cold water in the saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer until a fork passes through the centres without a hard core, approximately 15–20 minutes from a simmer. Start the meatball pan while they cook, watching both pans. Drain when tender and set the potato saucepan ready for mashing.

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4. 04

   Step 4. Brown the meatballs

   Heat oil in the deep frying pan over medium heat. Add meatballs in one layer without crowding, turning gently for about 6–8 minutes to colour several sides. They are not yet assumed safe to eat. Move them onto the dedicated partially cooked-food plate; keep that plate and its juices away from clean garnish. Proceed immediately to the sauce without chilling or saving these partly cooked meatballs for later.

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5. 05

   Step 5. Build the tomato sauce

   Lower the heat and cook onion in the same pan for about 5–7 minutes, stirring until softened. Add the remaining garlic and stir for around 30 seconds without scorching. Add passata, oregano and about half the measured sauce water, then bring to a gentle simmer, scraping up browned pan bits. Return meatballs and their plate juices carefully to the sauce; wash that plate and its utensils before reuse.

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6. 06

   Step 6. Finish cooking all the way through

   Cover and gently simmer, turning meatballs and stirring sauce occasionally, for roughly 15–20 minutes. If sauce catches, reduce heat and add a little of the remaining water. Check the centres of the largest meatballs with a clean probe: 75°C for 30 seconds is required. Continue until reached; clean the probe after checks. A browned surface is not evidence that minced meat is cooked through.

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7. 07

   Step 7. Mash and serve

   Aim to finish potatoes and meatballs together. Warm the milk listed for mash, add butter to the drained hot potatoes and mash, adding that milk gradually to the consistency you prefer; it may not all be needed. If mash cooled while waiting, reheat only what will be eaten now, stirring until steaming throughout. Eat that reheated mash at this service and discard any remaining; do not cool it for another reheating. Divide mash and fully cooked meatballs between the selected dishes, spoon over sauce and finish with clean reserved parsley. Serve promptly.

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