Creamy mushroom meatballs

Serves:

Ingredients

• half a cup breadcrumbs or 2 pieces stale bread
• 1 small onion
• 1 sprig fresh or a tspn dried thyme
• 500g beef mince
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups beef stock
• half a cup red wine
• 1 medium carrot, sliced
• 4 large button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced

Method

Preheat oven to 200C.

In a food processor, place breadcrumbs or stale bread, onion and thyme. Pulse (turn on high setting for short bursts) for a few seconds and then add beef mince and cooked rice. Pulse again until well combined.

Roll the mince mixture into golf-ball sized balls and place onto a greased baking tray.

Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until well browned.

In a baking dish, combine the condensed soup, beef stock and red wine.

Transfer the cooked meatballs from the baking tray and place in the baking dish with the wet ingredients.

Cover with lid or aluminium foil and return to the oven and for a further 30 minutes.

Steam some carrots until slightly soft and then add mushrooms and zucchini to the steamer for 3 minutes. Stir the vegetables through the meatballs before serving.

Serve on pasta, rice or with mashed potato.

Notes:

• To preserve as much flavour, texture and nutrition as possible, steam the vegetables just prior to serving. Boiling or preparing the vegetables too far in advance will make the vegetables sloppy and tasteless.
• Substitute the cream of mushroom soup for cream of tomato if you wish.
• You can substitute beef mince with veal mince as another option.
• This recipe was created by Melissa Klemke for Kidspot, New Zealands best recipe finder.

Serving Suggestions

Note