- To make the tomato sauce, chop the onion and garlic and sweat them in a saucepan with some extra virgin olive oil before adding the passata. Season with salt and pepper and add the basil leaves. Simmer for about 1 hour, adding some water if it gets too dry.
- While that’s simmering, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large roasting tin. Season the lamb shoulder with salt and pepper and fry it in the oil over a high heat, until nicely seared all over.
- Cut the bread into small pieces and soak in the milk until all of it has been absorbed, then squeeze out any excess liquid by hand.
- Put the meat in a bowl, add the bread and mix thoroughly. At this point add the Grana Padano, Pecorino, chopped parsley and eggs. Mix well and adjust with salt and pepper.
- Shape the mixture into 12 meatballs. Making a small well in the centre of each one, add in a teaspoonful of Burrata cheese and close them up again, being careful they are well sealed so the Burrata won’t leak out.
- To make the pesto, quickly blanch the basil leaves in boiling water and cool them down to halt the cooking in iced water. Drain and transfer into a blender. Add all the other pesto ingredients and blitz until everything is well combined. Adjust with salt.
- Add the meatballs into the tomato sauce and let them cook thoroughly. Transfer into a serving dish and finish with generous dollops of pesto.
Francesco Mazzei’s burrata filled Welsh Lamb meatballs with tomato sauce and basil pesto
- Prep time 40 mins
- Cook time 1 hrs
- Serves 4
Ingredients
- 500g PGI Welsh Lamb mince
- 30g parsley
- 80g Grana Padano PDO cheese
- 80g Pecorino Romano PDO cheese
- 250g Burrata di Andria PGI cheese
- 250g sourdough bread
- 300ml milk
- 2 eggs
- Black pepper
- Salt
For the tomato sauce
- 1 large white onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1kg tomato passata
- 10 basil leaves
- Salt
For the pesto
- 300g basil leaves
- 80ml extra virgin olive oil
- 20g Pecorino Romano PDO cheese
- 20g Grana Padano PDO cheese
- ½ a garlic clove
- 20g pine nuts
- Salt