Cook’s Series Free Range Pork & Fennel Meatballs

These delicious meatballs are made from free range pork and fennel cooked in a rich tomato sauce base. They come precooked which means they are ready for you to heat and eat in just 20 minutes. Serve with pasta and top with lashings of parmesan, top some creamy soft polenta and shower with herbs, make an Italian sub or Mexican burrito – your imagination is the only limit.

The City Larder Cook's Series range of finish-at-home meals are made with high-quality ingredients following traditional techniques. Consider them the prep chef you’ve always wanted.⁠

Heating instructions
• Roast – Remove from bag and cook in an oven pre-heated to 160 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 minutes.
• Pan-fry – Remove from bag and cook gently in a heavy-based pan for approximately 10-15 minutes each side
• Sous-vide – Leave in bag. Submerge full package in a pot of simmering water for 30 minutes with lid on.

Meatball Pizza

A culinary staple, pizza at home can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. You can make your own bases of course, but these days there are many great options readily available, such as premium wood-fired bases sourced at From Scratch Dough.

Ingredients
• 1 pack (340g) Cook’s Series Free Range Pork & Fennel Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, each ball halved  
• mozzarella cheese, grated
• fresh basil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Celsius or as high as it will go. Preheating your oven for at least 30 minutes beforehand will ensure there are no cold spots.
2. With your pizza base on a rimless (or upturned) baking tray, spread a little of the packet sauce over the base, scatter the cheese and place the meatball halves at even intervals. Slide it into the oven and cook until the cheese is bubbling (7-9 minutes).
3. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Tips
• Aim for an even distribution of ingredients. Less is more and a good glug of olive oil around the crust never hurts.
• If you want a crispier bottom, cook the base for a few minutes before topping and cook on an oven rack rather than a tray.
• If you get a little over-excited adding toppings, turn your oven down to 200 degrees Celsius and cook for an extra 5 mins.

Meatballs on Soft Polenta

This dish is pure comfort food. Soft, creamy polenta paired simply with our star meatballs and topped with fresh parsley and grated parmesan. Humble yet magnificent.

Ingredients
• 500ml water
• ½ tsp salt
• 100g coarse cornmeal
• 1 pack (340g) Cook's Series Free Range Pork & Fennel Meatballs
• 100g butter
• 50g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• handful fresh rocket leaves
• extra virgin olive oil

Method
1. Put water and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil then rain in cornmeal in a thin stream with one hand while whisking the whole lot with the other hand. Stir for a minute or two until it begins to thicken then turn down the heat and stir well with a spatula every 5 minutes or so to stop it sticking/clumping.
2. Meanwhile, warm through Cook's Series Free Range Pork & Fennel Meatballs according to instructions on rear of pack.
3. When the polenta begins to come away from the sides of the pan (after about 30 minutes), it’s cooked. Stir in the butter, half the cheese then taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
4. To serve, spoon a generous amount of polenta onto your serving dish, top with the warmed-through meatballs and sauce. Finish with extra virgin olive oil, the remainder of Parmigiano Reggiano and top with rocket leaves.

Meatball Sub

You don’t need a nonna of your own for this Italian-inspired lunch. The key to this comfort meal is the tender free-range pork and fennel meatballs bathed in a rich tomato sauce. Oh, would you look at that - City Larder Cook’s Series has already done all the work for you. Just heat them up and you’ll be sinking your teeth into the succulent meatballs in no time.

Ingredients
• 1 pack (340g) Cook’s Series Free Range Pork & Fennel Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
• 2 long sandwich rolls
• extra virgin olive oil
• radicchio leaves chopped - optional
• guindillas peppers, drained well and thinly sliced - optional
• mozzarella, freshly grated

Method
1. Tip the meatballs and accompanying sauce into a saucepan and heat gently for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut open the bread rolls lengthways not quite all the way through, drizzle with olive oil and char on a grill or bbq.
3. On the open roll assemble chopped radicchio and sprinkle on the peppers if using. Gently break open the meatballs and spread evenly across the bread rolls ensuring to coat well with the sauce.
4. Top immediately with plenty of cheese, pop under the grill to melt then dig in.