I don’t typically have much luck taking pictures of brown food. I think it’s just a hard food group to take sexy photos of. But take my word for it that these Baked Sage and Onion Stuffing Meatballs are super tasty! They taste just like Christmas!

This recipe is based on this one here, but I have made quite a few tweaks to it. The main one being that I’ve increased the quantity quite a bit (our Christmas lunches a a big family affair) and I’ve left off the bacon wrapping. I’m sure the bacon wrapping would be quite delicious, but also very time consuming.

These stuffing meatballs are great for a pot luck and easy enough to prepare ahead of time*. They also reheat well. I like baking a dish of these for the Christmas Buffet. Optionally, you can add some sliced apple to the dish for a tasty accompaniment to the stuffing meatballs. I also think diced apple added to the mixture would be lovely, or some chopped pistachios.

Baked Sage and Onion Stuffing Meatballs

makes about 30
1/2 cup oil
4 onions, finely chopped
4 celery sticks, finely chopped
900g (2 lb)good quality pork mince
20g fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
300g fresh white breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2 apples, optional

Preheat oven to 190°C.

Heat the oil on low in a large frying pan, then soften the onions and celery for about 15 mins. Set aside to cool. Put the mince into a large mixing bowl. Once the onion mix has cooled, tip into the mixing bowl and add the sage, breadcrumbs, eggs and seasoning, then mix really well with your hands.

Shape the mixture into balls about the size of a small orange. I get about 30 balls from the mix. Place the balls into a baking dish (I use my lasagna dish). If adding the apple, core and cut into wedges and dot them around the meatballs. Cover the dish with foil, then bake for 15 mins. Uncover and bake for a further 30 mins until golden on top.

*If you would like to prepare these ahead of time, make the meatballs and freeze before baking. Defrost and bake as directed.