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meatballs in a tomato sauce in a black skillet

Italian meatballs in tomato sauce

These Italian Meatballs are a great way to sneak some veggies in without the kids noticing!

Details

Serves: Serves 4

Number of ingredients: 12 Ingredients

To prep: 15 Minutes Prep

To cook: 35 Minutes Cook

Difficulty: Medium

Nutrition per serving

  • Energy : 1504.5kJ

  • Fat (total): 9g

  • - Saturated Fat: 2.6g

  • Carbohydrate (total): 32g

  • Fibre: 8.2g

  • Sodium: 431mg

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 brown onion, diced

400g lean beef mince

1 small zucchini, grated

1 small carrot, grated

1 egg

2-3 sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

1/4 cup wholegrain breadcrumbs

1/2 eggplant, chopped

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

2 x 400g canned diced tomatoes

Method

  1. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a small non-stick frying pan. Add half the onion and stir for 5 minutes or until onion softens. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
  2. Once onion is cool, add mince, zucchini, egg and breadcrumbs to the bowl. Mix until well combined. Divide mixture into 16 meatballs.
  3. Heat remaining oil in large non-stick frying pan. Add meatballs and cook, turning often, until browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  4. Add remaining onion, eggplant and garlic to pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes.
  5. Add tomatoes, canned tomatoes and grated carrot to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add rosemary, cover and cook for 10 minutes,
  6. Return meatballs to a pan and cook in sauce for a further 5-10 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Combine with sauce.
  7. Divide meatballs into serving bowls. Serve with a slice of sourdough bread.