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Top > Recipes > Meat > Pork, Fennel & Lemon Meatballs

Pork, Fennel & Lemon Meatballs



Recipe by localresi Donna Ross

The soaked bread crumbs ensures these meatballs are light and juicy, and the lemon gives them a summery feel.  If you don't like fennel seeds, leave them out and add the same amount of your favourite herb (fresh or dried).  Sage, basil and oregano would all be great.

Serves 4

For the meatballs
4tbsp breadcrumbs
50ml milk
Half a tbsp fennel seeds, in a dry frying pan
Half an onion, finely diced
Zest of one lemon, finely grated or chopped
500g "British Lop" pork sausage meat
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1 tbsp chopped parsley

Tomato sauce
One and a half onions, finely diced
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Slug of red wine

For the meatballs:
1. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 10 minutes so they absorb most - if not all - of the milk.

2. Toast the fennel seeds in a frying pan without any oil. Tip them out of the pan into a medium sized bowl.

3. Fry the onion gently in a little oil.  Add to the fennel seeds and leave them to cool down.

4. Drain the breadcrumbs and gently squeeze out any excess milk.

5. Add the drained breadcrumbs to the cooled onion and fennel seeds and add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix them together with your hands to make sure everything is evenly distributed.  Leave the meatball mix to one side while you start the sauce, and this will give time for the flavours to mingle.

For the tomato sauce:
1. Fry the onion in a little oil until soft.

2. Add a slug of wine to the onion and raise the temperature of the pan to burn off the alcohol.  Reduce the heat and add the tomatoes.  Cook over a gentle heat for about 20 minutes.

To cook the meatballs:
1. With wet hands or two dessert spoons, form the meatball mix into ping-pong ball sized balls.  You should get about 30 form this quantity of mixture.
2. Fry a pinch of the mix to check the seasoning.  If not add a little salt and/or pepper to taste, but the British Lop sausage meat is well seasoned already.
3. Either fry them in a large frying pan little oil until they are crispy and brown, or place them directly into the tomato sauce and let them cook in there for about 20-30 minutes.  Frying them gives the meatballs a lovely crust, but takes a little effort as you'll have to do them in at least two batches. 

Serve with mashed potato, pasta or polenta.

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