Mexican Spiced Meatballs
Spice up your minced beef with a sprinkle of Mexican Rub to make a warming dish of spicy meat balls. Great served with pasta, rice, couscous or with a wrap, flatbread, pitta or crusty bread to mop up the sauce. This recipe can easily be cooked on the BBQ or hob
Serves 4
What you need:
500g minced beef
2 tablespoons Mexican Rub
1 red pepper, deseeded & sliced
1 orange pepper, deseeded & sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli deseeded & finely chopped
I tin chopped tomatoes or carton passata
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp caster sugar or 1 tbsp honey
500ml beef stock
250ml red wine (optional)
Salt & Pepper
What to do:
In a bowl tip the minced beef along with 2 tablespoons of Mexican Rub. Mix thoroughly with your hands and leave to marinate for an hour if time allows or longer.
Form the mix into balls. I used a tablespoon and got 14 balls out of the 500g but you can make them as big or small as you like.
Set up your bbq for direct cooking and using a large heavy based pan drizzle in a splosh of olive oil & sear the meat balls.
Once coloured, remove with a slotted spoon & place into a clean dish. Keep all the juices in the pan still on the heat and add in the sliced onions, peppers, garlic, chilli and saute for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the tin of chopped tomatoes followed by the wine if using, beef stock, sugar or honey. This adds just a little sweetness and another layer of flavour to the dish. Mix well then tip in the meat balls. Cook for a further 15 minutes, making sure the meat balls are cooked through. You might need to add a little more water.
Serve with pasta or rice and top with natural yoghurt and your favourite salsa or sauce.
Can be cooked on the hob too.