French Onion Meatballs
All the comforting flavours of French onion soup transformed into a hearty family dinner. Tender meatballs are baked in a rich caramelised onion gravy and topped with bubbling cheese. Serve with creamy mashed potato, buttered green beans or broccolini and crusty sourdough to soak up the onion gravy.
How long will it take?
1 hour
What’s the serving size?
Serves 4
What do I need?
For the Meatballs
- 500 g beef mince
- 250 g pork mince
- 1 small brown onion, finely grated
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large brown onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 375 mL beef stock
- 125 mL dry white wine
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
For the Topping
- 150 g grated Gruyere or mozzarella cheese
- Fresh thyme sprigs
How do I make it?
- Combine the beef mince, pork mince, grated onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Roll the mince mixture into 16 evenly sized meatballs, about 50 g each.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan or casserole dish over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides for 5-6 minutes. They do not need to be fully cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the same pan. Add sliced onions and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden and caramelised. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle over the flour and stir for 1 minute. Gradually add the stock and wine.
- Stir in Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Return the meatballs to the pan, nestling them amongst the onions and spooning some onions over the top.
- Place frying pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes remove from oven and scatter over the grated cheese.
- Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted, bubbling and lightly golden.
- Garnish with thyme and serve immediately.
