My children give me a round of applause every time that I make these Mini Meatballs with home cooked sauce. They are so nutritious, loaded with fresh vegetables and deliriously delicious that second servings in my family are guaranteed. This recipe will make an enormous batch suitable for feeding 10 – 12 people. 


Start by making the sauce…

Ingredients
Olive oil
50 grams unsalted butter
1 brown onion
2 – 4 cloves garlic (depending on taste)
2 zucchini
1 baby fennel including the soft green fronds
a good handful of mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
800 g fresh sweet tomatoes (I used a combination of the rich-red ripe Roma variety and grape tomatoes because thats what I had in the fridge)
1 x 400 g tin of crushed tomatoes
300 ml chicken stock or water
1 heaped teaspoon caster sugar
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Roughly chop the fresh vegetables. Heat the olive oil and butter in a deep saucepan then add these to the pot. Sauté over a medium heat for 10 minutes. 

Add ALL of the remaining ingredients, stir to combine. Bring to the boil, then immediately remove from the heat. Clamp on the lid and place in a preheated oven at 170 degrees conventional setting or 150 degrees fan-forced for 90 minutes. 

While the sauce is simmering, prepare the meatballs…

Ingredients
1.2 kg beef mince
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons fine semolina – If your mixture is a little wet, which can happen as the moisture and fat content in mince can vary from one supplier to another, then add and extra tablespoon of semolina. 
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Put all of the ingredients into a deep bowl and using your hands (which should be washed thoroughly before you even walk int o the kitchen), mix together using a kneading action until completely combined. 

Take small portions (about 2 teaspoons) and roll between your palms into firm, bite sized meatballs. Place on a plate, and when all the mince has been turned into a tower of meatballs, cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until the sauce is ready. 

Gently drop the meatballs throughout the sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked through. 

Serve with buttered steamed rice, a soft slab of creamy baked ricotta and a liberal shaving of parmesan cheese. These meatballs can also be warmed up in the microwave on a school morning and scooped into a food safe thermos. Just the thing to enjoy for lunch at school on once the heat of summer comes finally ends. 


I swoon over salad, especially one with just a hint of dressing which enhances rather than hides the fresh taste and texture of the ingredients.  I would be happy munching my way through the entire bowl, ignoring everything else on the table. 

This evening I tossed together this Tangy Summer Salad as a side dish to perfectly barbecued scotch fillet steak cut into plump, marbled pieces by Chilcott’s Butchery. I found dense, creamy avocados on display at Fruit at Hunters Hill and included two in this salad. This was combined with a head of soft green oak lettuce, thinly shaved baby carrots, crisp telegraph cucumbers and juicy Roma tomatoes. For an extra surprising mouthful of flavour I also sprinkled over fresh coriander leaves. An aromatic lemon was squeezed over the top, along with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a good grind of sea salt and black pepper with about 1 tablespoon of verjuice. 

This salad would make a tantalising filling for wraps, sandwiches and rolls, especially when teamed with a sharp cheddar, slices of honey glazed ham or barbecued chicken. I recommend eating the sandwiches immediately though, to prevent the dressing from soaking the bread. As a school lunch option, just omit the dressing and include a light spread of egg mayonnaise or cream cheese on your preferred bread for added flavour and as a way of helping the salad “stick” to the sandwich.