Baked Meatballs with Feta

Good quality meaty sausages are the key to this warming winter dish, says Julie Biuso. Photo: Julie Biuso

This is such a cool idea. It makes a dish of meatballs an easy job for a midweek meal. The key is good meaty sausages. Serve with crusty bread and a green vegetable of your choice.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• Pinch dried chilli flakes
• 2 x 400g cans cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup water
• ½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp fresh marjoram or a few pinches of dried oregano
• 450g premium sausages such as pork and fennel
• 200g creamy-style feta, sliced
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Method

Gently heat oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add rosemary, garlic and chilli. Cook briefly, just until the garlic turns a pale biscuit colour. Carefully add tomatoes (they can splutter). Swirl water around the tomato cans to collect all the sauce and add to pan. Stir, bring to a gentle bubble, then lower the heat. Add salt and marjoram or oregano. Cook gently, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Slit sausages, remove casings, and pinch off small amounts, then roll into balls - aim to make the balls roughly the same size as the cherry tomatoes. Transfer to a tray as they are done and keep refrigerated until the sauce is ready.

Preheat oven to 200°C.Transfer sauce to a shallow ovenproof gratin dish (approximately 34cm x 23cm). Add meatballs and shake the dish so they roll around and become covered with sauce. Distribute feta over the top. Bake for about 20 minutes, until everything is bubbling, and the feta is lightly coloured.

Remove dish from oven and let it cool for a few minutes before serving (if there is excess fat on top from the sausages, scoop it off). Scatter with parsley and serve.