Accidental Veal Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

I try my very best to not screw up. I don’t like that sinking feeling of making mistakes. I spent the early part (the first 40 years) of my working life on the service side of business. Having spent my time always trying (and occasionally failing) to meet the needs, wants and even whims of my customers, I have been left with a Pavlovian reaction to my mistakes. I own up, I apologise and I ask what I can do to make it right. So, picture me in the butcher’s wearing my mask, talking through the small gap in the perspex screen and intending to ask for a generous half kilo of venison mince. What arrived was a generous half kilo of veal mince.

Did I ask for veal instead of venison? Probably (says Pavlov) or at least possibly. So, a few minutes later, I left the butcher with a generous half kilo of veal mince for today’s recipe and a generous half kilo of venison mince, for another recipe. Having the 650 gms (generous half kilo) of veal got me thinking. I concocted a pretty simple recipe using what was at hand in the kitchen, not wanting to expose myself to virus potential more than necessary.

Here’s what I did to produce a really delightful, simple and quick recipe for veal meatballs in tomato sauce.

Meatball Ingredients

• 650 gms of veal mince
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
• 150 gms of breadcrumbs
• 150 gms of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• Half a teaspoon of black pepper
• Half a teaspoon of dried oregano
• A generous pinch of salt

Sauce ingredients

• 2 400gram tins of tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• Half a teaspoon of dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons of tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• Half a teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• Half a teaspoon of chilli flakes

This is more of a throwing than a pouring shot.

Good quality ingredients make for great food. This is a truly free range egg.

To make the meatballs, put all the ingredients in a big bowl, reserving about one third of the cheese. mix by hand until well combined. Make up sixteen table tennis ball sized meatballs.  place these in the fridge to settle.

I decided against getting minced veal under my fingernails. The “bought because of Covid’ gloves came in handy.

The symmetry (despite one being a bit small) makes for a nice shot.

For the sauce, peel and thinly slice the garlic. Add all the ingredients to a wide saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer and occasionally stir for about twenty minutes with the lid on (not while stirring). Using the back of a wooden spoon, break down any tomato pieces that survive the cooking.

The sauce is simplicity itself.

Add a small amount of oil to a frying pan and fry the meatballs until brown on most sides. I have never been able to get meatballs brown on all sides without deep frying. Add the meatballs to the sauce and place a lid on before placing in a medium 180ºC / 350ºF oven for about fifteen minutes.

The cast iron frying pan does a nice job on the meatballs.

Cook your desired pasta. I had only got these squiggly pieces so they were the “pasta of choice” for this dish. They worked really well.

Serve the meatballs and sauce with the pasta (or crusty bread, if you have it), sprinkling the remaining cheese over the top and giving it a twist of black pepper too.

Lovely veal meatballs. I can’t praise them enough.

This accidental veal meatball dish is a delight and I highly commend getting the ingredients and making it for yourself and family. Do enjoy it.