Sweet & Sour Meatballs recipe

This recipe came from a book called “A Generous Helping”, which is an ABC publication that came out post-floods last year. I decided to try this one and it was super tasty – sweet and sour really is a winning flavour combo! I’m never very good at meatballs, they always seem to fall apart on me. These ones were not too bad, but I did have a few crumble! Most importantly, kids LOVE meatballs and it’s a great way to get lots of veges in. The rice adds a bit of crunch and texture – although I was a little confused as to whether the rice should have been pre-cooked – can anyone shed some light? Hubby thought it was just fine raw, so I’m happy to leave it like that! This serves 4 and comes in at 325 calories per serve. The original recipe suggests serving with spaghetti, but I didn’t find it necessary.

Ingredients
Meatballs
500g lean beef mince
50g brown rice
1 onion, grated
1 carrot, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper
olive oil spray

Sauce
400g tin tomato soup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 capsicum, finely chopped

Method
Combine all of the meatball ingredients (except oil) in a bowl and form into small balls. Heat oil in a large frying pan and saute until browned on all sides – this may need to be done in batches.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove cover and simmer a further 5 minutes. Add the meatballs to the sauce and heat through before serving.

– Ness