Mum’s Beef and Pork Meatballs with Risoni

This is my mum’s meatball recipe, one she’s made for as long as I can remember and taught me herself. She’s Italian, and these meatballs are true to how she grew up eating them: poached low and slow in a rich tomato sauce until they’re tender, with risoni cooked right in that same sauce at the end to soak up all the flavour. It’s proper Italian comfort food, the kind of meal that brings everyone to the table.

Serves 4-6

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 hours

Looking for more hearty tomato-based comfort food? Try my Beef Bolognese Potato Bake, my Slow Cooker Chicken Risoni Soup, or my Tortellini Minestrone.

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Helpful Tips

Storage

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezes well for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Substitutions

Risoni: swap for ditalini or another small pasta shape.
Beef and pork mince: use all beef or all pork if you prefer.
Parmesan: pecorino works well
Fresh basil and parsley: dried herbs can be used, at around a third of the amount.

Serving Suggestions

Serve straight from the pot with crusty bread for mopping up the sauce, and a simple green salad on the side to balance out the richness.

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Ingredients Directions

Serving Scaler

Serves 4-6 1x 2x 3x

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

4 slices day old white bread, crusts removed
1½ cups milk
500g beef mince
500g pork mince
½ brown onion, grated
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 eggs
Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ brown onion, finely chopped
4 parsley stems
700ml (2¾ cups) tomato passata
400g can crushed tomatoes
Handful basil leaves
Handful parsley leaves
300g (1½ cups) risoni
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chilli flakes, optional, to taste

To garnish:

2 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped
Extra parmesan, grated

Directions

For the meatballs:

In a bowl, soak the bread in the milk, then drain and squeeze out the excess liquid.
Add the soaked bread to the beef mince and pork mince along with the grated onion, parsley, parmesan, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper.
Combine the mixture well and roll into golf ball-sized meatballs.

For the sauce:

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, parsley stems and chilli flakes if using, and cook until the onion has softened.
Add the passata and crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Nestle the meatballs into the sauce so they’re mostly submerged, then add the basil and parsley leaves. Cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the wilted basil and parsley leaves.
Scatter the risoni around the meatballs in the sauce and cook until al dente, gently stirring occasionally to stop the risoni from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Top up with a splash of water if the sauce reduces too much.
Serve straight from the pan, topped with extra parmesan and parsley.

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Nutritional Information

( per serving, based on 5 )

Nutrient	Amount
Calories	750 kcal
Protein	55 g
Carbohydrates	58 g
Fat	34 g
Fibre	5 g

Nutritional information is approximate and provided as a general reference only. Actual values may vary. This is not a substitute for professional dietary advice.