Saucy meatball & carrot bake with crispy feta crumbs

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only
A moreish meatball recipe that you can divide into batches and freeze for later – a great way to use up a glut of carrots

Prep:30 mins
Cook:1 hrs

Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 488
fat 24g
saturates 8g
carbs 38g
sugars 19g
fibre 5g
protein 33g
salt 1.85g

Ingredients

900g pork mince
140g breadcrumbs
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 egg
4 tsp ground cumin
750g carrot, peeled and halved lengthways, or quartered if they're really big
4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for frying
3 onion, 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

Tip

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.

Method

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.
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.
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.
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.