Pork Meatballs with Creamy Polenta

• 500 gpork mince
• 1egg, beaten
• 60 ggluten-free breadcrumbs
• 1 tspDijon mustard
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tbspgarlic-infused olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper, to season
• 1 x 400gcan chopped tomatoes
• 200 mlpassata
• 2 tbspchopped flat-leaf parsley
• 150 gcoarse polenta
• 300 mllactose-free milk (plus 400ml water)
• 50 gparmesan, finely grated
• 2carrots, finely diced

Method

1. 1Start the polenta first. Bring the milk and 400ml water to a gentle boil in a saucepan with a pinch of salt. Whisk in the coarse polenta in a slow stream, reduce the heat and cook gently for its packet time, stirring regularly until smooth and tender. Allow around 30 minutes, longer if the packet requires it; add a splash of water if it thickens before the grains soften. Meanwhile mix the pork mince, beaten egg, breadcrumbs, Dijon, oregano and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl until just combined.
2. 2Shape into 16 small meatballs, roughly walnut-sized. Heat the garlic-infused oil in a stainless or cast-iron frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown the meatballs in two batches; crowd the pan and the meat steams in its own water instead of building that deep caramelised crust. Turn every minute or so until burnished on all sides, about 5–6 minutes a batch. They don't need to be cooked through yet; you're after colour and the sticky brown bits left in the pan.
3. 3Pour the chopped tomatoes and passata into a wide saucepan with a splash of water. Stir in the finely diced carrots, season well with salt and pepper and bring to a low simmer.
4. 4Slip the browned meatballs into the sauce along with any sticky residue from the pan, cover and simmer gently for 12–15 minutes until cooked through and the sauce has reduced to something glossy and rich that coats the back of a spoon.
5. 5Check the polenta as the meatballs simmer, stirring from the bottom so it does not catch. It should be smooth and tender, with no gritty bite, before you add the cheese.
6. 6Off the heat, beat 40g of the grated Parmesan through the polenta until silky and spoonable. Taste; it should hold a soft mound on the plate but slump gently under a ladle of sauce.
7. 7Stir most of the chopped parsley through the tomato sauce just before serving and taste it one more time for salt; the parmesan in the polenta is salty, so the sauce can take a touch less.
8. 8Spoon the parmesan polenta into shallow bowls, nestle four meatballs on top of each, ladle over plenty of glossy tomato sauce, then scatter the remaining parsley and the remaining 10g Parmesan over each plate.

Per serving

kcal

699

protein

37.8g

fibre

6.4g

carbs

56.7g

fat

35g