A dish serving pancetta, date & chorizo meatballs

Pancetta, date & chorizo meatballs

By Kyle Boyce from London Grind
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Prep: 20 mins Cook: 1 hr, 15 mins

More effort

Serves 4

Stuff medjool dates with chorizo and wrap in pancetta for a new take on meatballs, with a simple tomato sauce. A great tapas-style dish for entertaining

Nutrition and extra info

Nutrition: Per serving

  • kcal700
  • fat33g
  • saturates12g
  • carbs64g
  • sugars21g
  • fibre7g
  • protein34g
  • salt4.1g
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Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp chopped dill
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
    Parsley

    Parsley

    par-slee

    One of the most ubiquitous herbs in British cookery, parsley is also popular in European and…

  • 8 baguette slices, toasted to serve

For the date meatballs

  • 8 medjool dates, pitted and cut in half
  • 250g cooking chorizo, skin removed
    Chorizo

    Chorizo

    chore-reeth-oh

    A coarsely textured, spiced pork sausage widely used in Spanish and Mexican cooking. It is made…

  • 16 slices pancetta or thin streaky bacon
    Pancetta

    Pancetta

    pan-chet-ah

    Pancetta is Italian cured pork belly - the equivalent of streaky bacon. It has a deep, strong,…

For the tomato sauce

  • 1 onion, sliced
    Onion

    Onion

    un-yun

    Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

  • olive oil, for frying
    olive oil

    Olive oil

    ol-iv oyl

    Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 x 400g cans peeled tomatoes
    Tomato

    Tomato

    toe-mart-oh

    A member of the nightshade family (along with aubergines, peppers and chillies), tomatoes are in…

Method

  1. To make the date meatballs, stuff each date half with 30g of chorizo – they should look really full. Wrap each date with a slice of pancetta, then divide the meatballs between four individual baking dishes.

  2. To make the tomato sauce, fry the onion in a little oil until soft. Add the garlic and fry for 2 mins until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook for 45 mins over a low heat until the sauce is thick. Season well, then using a stick blender, blend until smooth.

  3. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake the dates for 10-15 mins or until cooked through and crisp. Tip the sauce into the baking dishes and bake for a further 3-5 mins to warm through. Scatter each baking dish with herbs, and serve with toasted baguette.

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