Pork Easy Main Italian

Meatballs

Name: Thomas Straker's easy meatballs recipe
Yield: 4
Cuisine: /italian
Ingredients: 1 onion, roughly chopped; 3 garlic cloves, peeled; Leaves from a bunch (30g) flat-leaf parsley; 75g packaged breadcrumbs; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 100ml milk; 300g beef mince; 300g pork mince; 300g veal mince; 160.00ml olive oil; 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 2 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes; 1 basil sprig; 2 tsp caster sugar; 4 thick slices sourdough bread; Basil pesto; 20g parmesan

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Meatballs by Thomas Straker — Issy Croker

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by Thomas Straker

CHEF

Jul 02, 2025

"Meatballs come in many different forms: fried ones, poached ones, small ones, big ones, juicy ones… and then the best ones are my ones. These are big, they are juicy and they are covered in a fresh tomato sauce with basil pesto and mountains of parmesan." – Thomas Straker.

This is an edited extract from Food You Want to Eat by Thomas Straker, published by Bloomsbury, AUD$49.99, available now.

1 onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
Leaves from a bunch (30g) flat-leaf parsley
75g packaged breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
100ml milk
300g beef mince
300g pork mince
300g veal mince

Tomato sauce

1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes
1 basil sprig
2 tsp caster sugar

To serve

4 thick slices sourdough bread
1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
Basil pesto
1/4 cup (20g) finely grated parmesan

Method

1.

Start by preparing the meatballs. In a food processor, very finely chop the onion, garlic cloves and parsley leaves with 1 tsp fine salt. Once chopped, add the breadcrumbs, egg and milk and blend until it forms a paste; this will bind with the meat, holding the moisture and keeping the meatballs light. Transfer the paste to a large mixing bowl, then add all the mince, along with 50 grinds of black pepper. Mix well with your hands until very well combined. Divide into 12 large balls weighing about 100g each and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Chill in the fridge until ready to cook.
2.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Place the oil in a medium-sized saucepan and add the garlic slices. Set over heat and cook gently for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is translucent, being careful not to burn it. Add the tomatoes, basil sprig and sugar and simmer for 30 minutes.
3.

To cook the meatballs, transfer the tomato sauce to a large, wide-based frypan with a lid and place in the meatballs to poach. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.
4.

At this point, set a chargrill pan over medium-high heat and brush the bread with the olive oil on both sides. Cook until nicely charred on both sides.
5.

To serve, place 3 meatballs per person into warmed bowls and spoon over plenty of the tomato sauce. Add a dollop of pesto over the top, then grate over some parmesan. Serve with the grilled bread to soak up the extra sauce.