Italian Meatballs with Roast Tomato Sauce & Rice

Ingredients

800g beef mince
½ bunch flat leaf parsley chopped
10 cloves garlic crushed
150g grated parmesan
4 whole eggs
1 medium red onion diced
1 medium brown onion diced
1 zucchini chopped into 1cm cubes
2 cups medium or long grain rice cooked
1 bunch basil picked and roughly chopped
500ml crushed tomatoes
50g grated pecorino
Salt/pepper/sugar to taste
100ml Extra virgin olive oil

Method

To make the roast tomato sauce first sweat the onions and half the garlic in about half the olive oil; once cooked add the crushed tomatoes and half the basil and simmer gently for at least one hour (long and slow is best), then season with salt, pepper and sugar if needed.

To make the meatballs combine the mince, 100g of the parmesan, half the crushed garlic, the parsley and eggs, then add some salt and pepper - mix well. Form into small balls and fry gently in batches in a pan over medium heat until cooked, remove and drain on absorbent paper.

Heat the rest of the olive oil and sauté the red onion and zucchini until just cooked, then add the rice and stir in to coat in the olive oil; finally, add the tomato sauce, the rest of the parmesan and basil (reserving a few leaves to garnish), and toss well to combine.

Divide the rice and meatballs between four bowls, garnish with pecorino and basil and some more olive oil if you wish.