Roast Fennel and Pork Meatballs

These versatile roast fennel and pork meatballs can be used with pasta, creamy mash potato or with some grains and vegetables. This recipe embraces the harmony with pork and fennel, without it being too much in the centre stage. So for those who are new to fennel or have kids who say they don’t like it, this may be a way to ease it in.

A little cheat which I often use to shorten cooking time in the evening is to roast my veggies the night before. Sometimes an hour in the afternoon can be manic in the lead to dinner prep. Hungry kids tired from a day of schooling or toddlers full of energy after an afternoon nap. Or that hangry feeling when you just want food after work and don’t want to wait for the veggies to roast! If you roast them the night before, you can pop it in the fridge before bed and start at step 3 and cut the cook time before serving.

As you can see below, my toddler was keen to get cutting into the fennel with his kid safe knife. So lets get cooking!

Recipe for Roast Fennel and Pork Meatballs

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Cut your fennel bulb and onion and place them in a baking dish with thyme and drizzle with olive oil. Cook for about 1 hour, or until soft.
3. Once cooked, place the fennel, onion, thyme leaves in a blender and blend them into a paste. Once blended down, add the pork mince and blend it down until the mince has combined with the fennel.
4. Use a tablespoon to grab out part of the mixture and shape it into meat balls. Place them in a pot and fry them off to brown them, rotating them every few minutes to cook each side.
5. Once browned and mostly cooked through, add the passata, a bit of extra thyme and salt and pepper and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until all heated through and cooked.
6. Serve on some creamy mash potatoes, grains or even with some pasta!

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Bon appétit