Meatballs with Molten Pâté Centres

This simple recipe creates big, tender meatballs with a rich burst of melting pate in the middle. It makes a great starter or tapas dish and works beautifully as a sauce with pasta.

Ingredients (makes 16-18 meatballs – feeds 4)

For the meatballs:

• 3 slices (about 120g) white bread
• 2 tsp mixed Italian herbs
• 500g pork mince and 500g beef mince – or for a richer version, substitute these with 1kg venison mince, available from Wild and Game
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• 3 medium eggs
• Salt and pepper
• 1 x 120g tub of Wild and Game Pheasant, Apple and Calvados Pâté
• A generous glug of olive oil

For the tomato sauce (double this if you like a lot of sauce, or if you are serving with pasta):

• 1 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 pinch chilli powder
• 2 pinches ground cumin
• 1 pinch ground coriander
• 2 tins tomato
• A glug of olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the over to 200 degrees centigrade/gas mark 6.
2. Tear the bread into pieces and place it in a food processor and whizz until you have fairly fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add all the other ingredients except for the oil, whizzing between additions, until they are all finely chopped and fully mixed.
4. Using a dessert spoon, measure out a spoonful of the mixture, make an indentation in it with your thumb, and pop in about a third of a teaspoon of pâté. Take another spoonful of the mix, place this on top, and roll in your hands until you have a ball. Place on a plate and repeat until all the mixture is used up.
5. Heat the olive oil in a wok or large frying pan, and cook the meatballs, turning regularly, until well browned. As each one is browned, remove it and place it on a greased baking tray.
6. Place all the browned meatballs in the oven for about 10 minutes until cooked through.
7. For the sauce, chop the onion and crush the garlic and fry in the olive oil until soft.
8. Add the spices and cook for about 30 seconds. Then add the tomatoes and cook for about 20 minutes. Season to taste. Serve over the meatballs.