Saucy meatball & carrot bake with crispy feta crumbs

Saucy meatball & carrot bake with crispy feta crumbs

A moreish meatball recipe that you can divide into batches and freeze for later - a great way to use up a glut of carrots

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr

Freezable

Method

  1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mix the pork, 50g of the breadcrumbs, caraway seeds, egg and half the cumin with 2 tsp salt and lots of pepper. Roll into about 30 meatballs and put into a large non-stick roasting tin. Put the carrots into another roasting tin. Split the oil between the two, and gently toss to coat. Roast for 30-40 mins, shaking the tins halfway (and swapping between shelves if you need to), until golden and cooked through.
  2. Meanwhile, fry the onion, ginger and remaining cumin in a drop more oil for a few mins in a large pan, stirring constantly. Stir in the passata, chopped tomatoes, sugar and some seasoning, then simmer for 15 mins.
  3. Divide the meatballs and carrots between baking dishes or tins and spoon over the tomato sauce. Mix the remaining breadcrumbs with the feta, parsley and some seasoning. Set aside any portions for freezing now, and sprinkle feta crumbs over any portions to be cooked immediately.
  4. To eat now, reduce the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and bake for 20 mins until crumbs are golden and everything is piping hot. Or follow the tips for freezing below, then defrost portions, finish assembling and bake at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 for 30-50 mins until everything is piping hot and bubbling - the cooking time will depend a bit on the portion size you are baking.
Try

Keeping the crumbs crispy

To make sure that the topping doesn't go soggy, freeze the crumbs in separate freezer bags. Then once the dishes of meatballs (and the crumbs) have defrosted, assemble and bake as above.

Per serving

488 kcalories, protein 33.0g, carbohydrate 38.0g, fat 24.0 g, saturated fat 8.0g, fibre 5.0g, sugar 19.0g, salt 1.85 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2011.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Belkey

    24 August 2011

    Belkey rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I halved this recipe and we had it as a onepot, so no carby accompanyments - was delicious, but only streched to 3 portions.

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  • Binder photo Rumbletum

    31 August 2011

    Rumbletum rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious! Fed hungry family of 4 twice: first batch with served with green beans and crusty bread, the second with rice.

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  • Binder photo Beth

    23 September 2011

    Beth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really lovely, used goats cheese instead of feta as we had some in.

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  • Binder photo Pauline

    05 November 2011

    Pauline commented on this recipe

    I made this originally from the magazine recipe - it wins on so many levels, easy to make, nutritious and soooo tasty. And you can freeze it - but can anyone please tell me how long it can be kept in the freezer??? (Trying to be more thrifty but not always sure how long things can be kept, so if the recipe doesn't say I am lost!!)

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  • Binder photo danicquinn

    17 November 2011

    danicquinn rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Takes a while to make as there are so many ingredients, but it was tasty and easy to make batches (cutting out hassle later on). We had it with some baguette, which was nice, but it would have been good to have a little green veg on the side too. Can see us making this again later in winter.

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  • Binder photo The Cherub

    14 May 2012

    The Cherub rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    We liked this. I didnt bother whizzing up the ingredients, just chopped very finely. I left out the egg and I didnt have carraway seeds either. Tasted good though. Will make again.

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  • Binder photo sanouschka

    06 November 2012

    sanouschka rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I have made this a few times and it is a tasty dish for the family. I generally serve it with rice or bulghur. However to make it a bit faster I buy ready made meatballs (from Asda's beef meatballs to Waitrose veal and parmesan meatballs) and halve them to make smaller balls. I also roast some parsnips together with the carrots to make a comforting wintry dish.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 8

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 30 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr

Freezable

Ingredients

  • 900g pork mince
  • 140g breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp caraway seeds
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tsp ground cumin
  • 750g carrots , peeled and halved lengthways, or quartered if they're really big
  • 4 tbsp olive oil , plus extra for frying
  • 3 onions , whizzed to a paste in a food processor
  • good chunk ginger , grated
  • 680g bottle passata
  • 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 200g pack feta cheese , crumbled
  • small pack parsley , chopped
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Per serving

488 kcalories, protein 33.0g, carbohydrate 38.0g, fat 24.0 g, saturated fat 8.0g, fibre 5.0g, sugar 19.0g, salt 1.85 g

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