- 250g/9oz beef mince
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
- ½tsp chilli powder
- flour, for dredging
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 romero pepper, seeds removed, chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 150ml/¼ pint white wine
- 200g/7oz basmati rice, washed
- handful chopped fresh parsley
- handful chopped fresh dill
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- For the meatballs, mix together the beef mince, garlic, onion, egg and chilli powder in a bowl.
- With wet hands, shape the mixture into 4-5 golfball-sized balls and dredge in flour.
- For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and sweat the onion until soft but not coloured.
- Add the garlic and the romero pepper and fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Cook to reduce the volume of wine by half.
- Add the meatballs, cover and cook for 15 minutes, turning the meatballs occasionally in the sauce, until cooked through.
- For the rice, place the rice in a saucepan and cover with 2½cm/1in cold water. Bring slowly up to the boil.
- Once the rice is boiling, stir once, turn the heat to very low and cover with a tight fitting lid for 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the rice cooked through.
- When the rice is cooked, stir through the herbs and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Rub the oil over the inside of a small Pyrex bowl. Press the rice into the bowl, then tip out onto a serving plate.
- To serve, arrange the meatballs around the rice and pour over the sauce.