Meatballs with rice

All cooked together in a rich and tasty tomato sauce

Meatballs with tomato sauce and red rice. Spanish and Mexican dish

Who doesn’t like meatballs with rice (or spaghetti)? This is one for the whole family. Easy to do. Just prepare the meatballs and put them in your rice cooker with the sauce ingredients and let the rice cooker do the hard work.

AuthorHungry PandaCategoryDifficultyIntermediate

Yields4 Servings
Prep Time30 minsCook Time40 minsTotal Time1 hr 10 mins

FOR THE MEATBALLS
20 meatballs made by combining the following and rolling into ball shapes:
 250 g ground beef (15%+ fat)
 250 g ground pork (15%+ fat)
 60 g panko bread crumbs
 60 ml milk (whole, skimmed, semi-skimmed)
 20 g fresh parsley, finely diced
 40 g parmesan, finely grated
 1 medium white onion, grated
 2 cloves garlic, minced (or finely grated)
 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
 ½ tsp dried oregano
 1 egg
 ¾ tsp salt
 ¼ tsp black pepper
FOR THE SAUCE
 750 ml tomato passata
 750 ml beef stock
 2 rice measuring cups long grain rice
 75 g sun dried tomatoes, finely diced
 30g / handful fresh basil, finely diced
 1 medium onion, finely diced
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
 1 tbsp tomato puree/paste
 1 tsp dried oregano
 ½ tsp chipotle flakes
 pinches salt, pepper and sugar, to taste
 olive oil, as needed
 parmesan, to serve

HOW TO MAKE
1

Assemble meatballs. Roll in hands to golf ball size.

2

Add a splash of oil to your rice cooker bowl. Use the SLOW COOK (or similar) to saute the meatballs
until they brown. You don’t need to cook them right through. Remove from bowl and set aside.

3

Drain excess fat if needed (around 1 tbsp left is fine and will add flavour). Add in onion to the oil/fat until golden, then add in sun dried tomatoes and garlic. Continue to heat until the tomatoes soften and the garlic browns slightly, then add in your tomato puree.

4

Pour in your passata. Wash out the jar with a little water, then pour in beef stock and Worcestershire sauce. Add in parsley, oregano, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and a good pinch of sugar (to taste).

5

Add your meatballs back in, give it one final stir, close lid and use the SLOW COOK or similar function for 30 mins. Remove from the rice cooker temporarily.

6

Add rice to the inner bowl and fill with the sauce to between levels 2-3 for white rice, add the meatballs and give it all a good stir. Set to WHITE RICE or LONG GRAIN function on your rice cooker and press START.

7

Serve up with extra basil and a good helping of parmesan!

Ingredients

FOR THE MEATBALLS
20 meatballs made by combining the following and rolling into ball shapes:
 250 g ground beef (15%+ fat)
 250 g ground pork (15%+ fat)
 60 g panko bread crumbs
 60 ml milk (whole, skimmed, semi-skimmed)
 20 g fresh parsley, finely diced
 40 g parmesan, finely grated
 1 medium white onion, grated
 2 cloves garlic, minced (or finely grated)
 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
 ½ tsp dried oregano
 1 egg
 ¾ tsp salt
 ¼ tsp black pepper
FOR THE SAUCE
 750 ml tomato passata
 750 ml beef stock
 2 rice measuring cups long grain rice
 75 g sun dried tomatoes, finely diced
 30g / handful fresh basil, finely diced
 1 medium onion, finely diced
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
 1 tbsp tomato puree/paste
 1 tsp dried oregano
 ½ tsp chipotle flakes
 pinches salt, pepper and sugar, to taste
 olive oil, as needed
 parmesan, to serve

Directions

HOW TO MAKE
1

Assemble meatballs. Roll in hands to golf ball size.

2

Add a splash of oil to your rice cooker bowl. Use the SLOW COOK (or similar) to saute the meatballs
until they brown. You don’t need to cook them right through. Remove from bowl and set aside.

3

Drain excess fat if needed (around 1 tbsp left is fine and will add flavour). Add in onion to the oil/fat until golden, then add in sun dried tomatoes and garlic. Continue to heat until the tomatoes soften and the garlic browns slightly, then add in your tomato puree.

4

Pour in your passata. Wash out the jar with a little water, then pour in beef stock and Worcestershire sauce. Add in parsley, oregano, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and a good pinch of sugar (to taste).

5

Add your meatballs back in, give it one final stir, close lid and use the SLOW COOK or similar function for 30 mins. Remove from the rice cooker temporarily.

6

Add rice to the inner bowl and fill with the sauce to between levels 2-3 for white rice, add the meatballs and give it all a good stir. Set to WHITE RICE or LONG GRAIN function on your rice cooker and press START.

7

Serve up with extra basil and a good helping of parmesan!

Notes

Meatballs with rice

The meatballs and sauce also work well with spaghetti of course. For a vegetarian option you can replace the beef and pork with plant based meat protein.