Flavourful Frikkadels

A lovely frikkadel recipe with a bacon twist, baked in a delicious tomato sauce. Our tasters raved about it. Do check out the tip at the end of the recipe.

Makes 18

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YOU WILL NEED

2 slices bread, white or brown, with crusts OR 2 slices bread, white or brown, with crusts removed
½ cup (125 ml) fresh full cream milk
1 T (15 ml) butter or olive oil
125 g streaky bacon, diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
½ t (2.5 ml) Ina Paarman’s Green Onion Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 x 25 g Ina Paarman’s Liquid Beef Stock
1 egg
500 g beef mince
1 t (5 ml) Ina Paarman’s Meat Spice or Garlic Pepper Seasoning
2 T (30 ml) chopped parsley

Tomato Sauce

2 ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped
½ t (2.5 ml) Ina Paarman’s Chilli & Garlic Seasoning
400 g Ina Paarman's Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce
1 T (15 ml) balsamic vinegar

Topping

¼ cup (60 ml) grated hard Italian cheese
¼ cup (60 ml) fresh breadcrumbs

Method

Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Pour the milk over the bread and leave to soak. Foam the butter in a frying pan, add the diced bacon and stir-fry until the bacon is crispy. Spoon bacon out with a slotted spoon. Add onion to the bacon fat in the pan together with Green Onion Seasoning. Sauté the onion until soft.

Add garlic and sauté ± 1 minute. Add undiluted Beef Stock, stir through, remove from heat and allow to cool. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg lightly, add the mince and Seasoning. Mash the soaked bread with a fork and add. Add parsley and cooled onion mixture. Roll into balls, ± ¼ cup size.

Sauce

To make the sauce, mix everything together and ladle into 6 individual ovenproof dishes, or one large ovenproof dish. Arrange the frikkadels in the sauce. Sprinkle a mixture of grated cheese and breadcrumbs over. Bake for 35 minutes until nicely browned. Serve with rice and a salad.

Ina's Tip

Mix ½ t (2.5 ml) bicarbonate of soda with 1 T (15 ml) of water and add it to the mince mixture. The bicarb raises the pH of the mixture and makes the meatballs soft and moist.