Garlic Meatballs - Tapas Style

Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 14 minutes | Serves: 4

These tapas-style garlic meatballs are quick and easy to make and perfect for entertaining.

400 g lean beef mince
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 slices thick white Italian-style bread, crusts removed
⅓ cup milk
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
finely grated rind and juice of a lemon
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
chopped fresh basil
olive oil for frying
large green olives, roasted red peppers, marinated mushrooms, chorizo and bread to serve

Place the beef mince, garlic, and a little salt and pepper in a large bowl. Tear bread into small pieces, place in a small bowl, and pour over the milk and olive oil. Set aside it for a few minutes or until bread absorbs most of the liquid. Mix with a fork. Add the bread mixture, lemon rind and juice, Parmesan and chopped basil to the beef, using your hand bring the mixture together and knead until combined.
Shape the mixture into meatballs. Make the meatballs small – about two teaspoons of the mixture for each ball.
Add enough oil to a medium-sized, heavy-based frypan to come one-third of the way up the side of the pan. Heat the oil over a moderately high heat.
Cook the meatballs in batches over a medium-high heat, until golden and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper. Allow the oil to reheat between batches.
Serving suggestion: Serve with meatballs with olives, peppers, mushrooms, chorizo and bread.

Freeze mince you don’t intend to use. Rather than freezing loose mince in roundish shape as bought from the butcher or grocery store, lay it out flat to freeze. This is important as it allows the mince to freeze and then thaw evenly. Cooked mince dishes can also be frozen for later use.
Thaw frozen mince (and any meat) in the fridge, on the lowest shelf below and or away from any ready to eat food.

Craving meatballs but don’t feel like cooking?

Check out our brand new ready-cooked Hot Beef Meatballs – they’re just $5 from your local Woolworths!

Garlic Meatballs – Tapas Style