Caramelised Onion Meatball Bake

Ingredients

• 600g beef mince
• 200g pork mince
• 80g breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 400g chopped tomatoes (tin)
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt & black pepper, to taste
• 150g mozzarella, torn
• 50g Parmesan, grated
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy frying pan over a low-medium flame. Add the sliced onions with the brown sugar and a pinch of salt — salt now draws the water out and starts the collapse. Cook slowly for 20–25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onions slump into something deeply golden, jammy and sweet. Rush this and you've just got soft onions; take it the full distance and you've got the backbone of the dish.
2. While the onions are working, tip the beef mince, pork mince, cooked red lentils, breadcrumbs, beaten egg, half the chopped garlic and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper into a bowl. Mix gently with your hands until only just combined — overwork it and the meatballs go bouncy and tight. Roll into even golf-ball-sized rounds; you should get around 20.
3. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a stainless or cast-iron frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in two batches — crowd the pan and the meat steams in its own juices instead of building that deep mahogany crust. Turn them to colour all sides, about 4–5 minutes a batch. They don't need to be cooked through; the oven finishes them. Lift out and set aside, leaving the sticky brown fond in the pan.
4. Tip the caramelised onions into the meatball pan over a medium heat and stir, scraping up the fond with a wooden spoon — those stuck bits are pure flavour and they'll dissolve straight into the onions. Stir in the remaining garlic and cook just until fragrant — 30 seconds, no more. Burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter, so watch it and keep it pale gold.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, the stock, the chopped roasted red pepper, tomato purée, Worcestershire and oregano. The stock is doing real work here — it breaks the tinned tomatoes down so they taste of summer fruit rather than heated tin. Simmer for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and turns glossy. Taste and season — it should land sweet, savoury and just slightly tangy. Adjust the salt now, not at the table.
6. Nestle the browned meatballs into the sauce in a 23cm ovenproof dish so they sit half-submerged, then scatter the torn mozzarella and grated Parmesan evenly over the top.
7. Bake at 200°C (fan 180°C) for 20–25 minutes until the cheese is blistered and golden in patches and the sauce bubbles up around the edges. The meatballs should read 70°C in the centre and the sauce should have reduced to a rich, caramelly glaze.
8. Rest for 5 minutes so the sauce settles and the cheese stops sizzling. Bring the dish to the table still bubbling, scatter generously with chopped parsley, squeeze a lemon wedge over the top to cut through the richness, and serve with crusty bread or creamy mash for mopping the sweet tomato-onion juices.