Lisa Faulkner’s winter warming meatballs... with a twist

There’s nothing better than a big plate of steaming meatballs to warm up the whole family in winter.

This classic versatile dish is also perfect for freezing and can be defrosted to suit many different recipes.

Former MasterChef winner Lisa Faulkner counts meatballs as one of her go-to winter dishes and she’s joined with Kikkoman Soy Sauce to create a meatball recipe with a difference, using star anise, ginger and soy sauce to spice up this old favourite.

Watch our video to see Lisa recreate the dish.

Meatball Recipe

Ingredients:

4 spring onions, roughly chopped

Thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and grated

400g pork mince

Pinch chilli flakes

2 tsp soy sauce

75g dry white breadcrumbs

1 egg yolk

For the sauce:

Olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 star anise

2 tins chopped tomatoes

2 tsp soy sauce

Pinch sugar

To serve:

300g dried linguine

Blitz the spring onions and ginger in food processor until finely chopped then add the remaining ingredients. Pulse until combined then tip into a large bowl. Shape the mixture into marble-sized meatballs, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the sauce. Heat a little olive oil in a large heavy based pan, add the onions and fry for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and star anise and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the tomato puree, tomatoes, soy sauce and sugar and simmer for 20 minutes until thickened.

When the sauce is nearly ready, heat a little olive oil in a deep frying pan, add the meatballs and fry for 5 minutes until golden brown all over. When the sauce is ready pour it over the meatballs and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes until al dente. Drain and reserve a little of the cooking water. Add the cooked pasta and a ladleful of the cooking water to the meatballs and sauce and toss to coat. Serve with a crisp green salad.

SERVING TIP: Serve in a big bowl on the table for the family to get stuck in. Make sure you also have napkins to hand so people can really enjoy the sauce!