All over the world, each country makes their claim to own the infamous meatball! Growing up, I always had dishes with ground beef, pork, and even chicken, and I loved the idea that you could immerse these little bundles of joy with various sauces and spices to make completely different dishes. Tonight I decided to make a Mediterranean Spicy Italian Meatball with a spin on a recipe I knew when I was still young!
I have tried to prepare a simple dish with the richest tomato vegetable sauce! The traditional recipe had white wine, breadcrumbs and milk. I have removed those from this because I really wanted my Spicy Italian Meatball as healthy as possible. I added in Mushrooms, Courgette and extra garlic instead!
The Best Spicy Italian Meatball
Here's the Mediterranean Spicy Italian Meatball recipe with a spin on a recipe I knew when I was still young!
Ingredients
TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS:
1 pound ground beef (minced beef)
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese - grated
½ medium red onion - really finely diced
3 cloves garlic - chopped
TO MAKE THE MARINARA SAUCE:
2 cans tomato - chopped- ½ medium red onion - finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic - chopped
1 medium green chilis (green chilli in British English) - finely diced
½ cup black olives - pitted green, as you want, drained
1 bunch basil
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- While preparing, put your oven around 350°F.
- To prepare Marinara, lightly fry the onion, garlic and chilli for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the courgette and cook for 2 additional minutes.
- Cook the mushroom in a small frying pan alone as you want to sweat out all the water/juice. Once cooked, add to the other pan with the other ingredients.
- Add the tomatoes along with the basil and finally the olives. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Then, pour the mixture into a baking dish.
- Now, let’s make the meatballs. While the tomato sauce is cooking, make the meatballs. To the mince, add parmesan and garlic. Season with a little salt and pepper and mix well.
- Shape into walnut-sized balls and fry in hot olive oil until golden.
- Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- You can serve it with some rice or pasta. I prefer it alone with a little sprinkle of parmesan on top!
Nutrition
Calories: 317kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 24gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 427mgPotassium: 439mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 197IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 3mg
How did this recipe turn out for you?We’re eager to hear your thoughts!
