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Black Pudding Meatballs

by Nigella. Featured in COOK EAT REPEAT

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Introduction

When I included these black pudding meatballs in Cook, Eat, Repeat, I thought they would be a niche choice, but I have been gratifyingly overwhelmed by the number of people who have made and loved these. Even when I thought take-up would be small, there was never a chance I would have left them out of the book: I love them far too much for that. I included them in the Loving Defence of Brown Food chapter, even if they are too cheery in their tomato sauce to count as brown food, exactly, as I felt they probably were going to be fully appreciated by true brown-food lovers. Even unapologetic meat eaters can be disgusted by the dark mysteries of blood. And while it's not entirely rational, our emotional responses so rarely are. Besides, I make no attempt now to convince anyone about these: I love them too much to waste making them for people who fail to appreciate them, no matter how brave they feel for trying.

And cooking is by no means always altruistic. The quantities below make for a big old batch of black pudding meatballs, simply because they are one of my absolute favourite things to eat, an instant sparker of joy; I honestly feel so much better about life knowing there's always a container or three of them in the freezer. I thrill at their deep gloriousness every time I eat them.

It's up to you what you eat them with but I must tell you that the Brown Butter Colcannon is sensational with them. But if I'm eating alone, I like them best with good bread and butter.

For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

It's up to you what you eat them with but I must tell you that the Brown Butter Colcannon is sensational with them. But if I'm eating alone, I like them best with good bread and butter.

For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

As featured in

COOK EAT REPEAT

2020

Buy Now

Image of Nigella's Black Pudding Meatballs — Photo by Jonathan Lovekin

As featured in

COOK EAT REPEAT

2020

Buy Now

Ingredients

Serves: 4-6 (or 1 person 4-6 times)

Metric Cups

For the tomato sauce

2 onions (approx. 300g / 2½ cups, roughly chopped)
45 grams beef dripping or 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 fat cloves of garlic
3 x 15ml tablespoons flatleaf parsley (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 x 400 grams tins of chopped tomatoes
1 x 15ml tablespoon tomato puree
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (gluten-free if necessary)
2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt flakes (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt)

For the meatballs

500 grams minced beef (not low fat)
250 grams black pudding (gluten-free if necessary)
2 fat cloves of garlic
3 x 15ml tablespoons finely chopped parsley (plus more to serve)
2 x 15ml tablespoons finely chopped chives (plus more to serve)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt flakes (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt)
A very good grinding of pepper
¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
2 x 15ml tablespoons porridge oats (not jumbo, gluten-free if necessary)
2 large eggs (at room temperature)

For the tomato sauce

2 onions (approx. 300g / 2½ cups, roughly chopped)
3 tablespoons beef dripping or 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 fat cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons Italian parsley (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 x 14 ounces tins of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (gluten-free if necessary)
2 teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt)

For the meatballs

1¼ pounds ground beef (not low fat)
8 ounces blood sausage (gluten-free if necessary)
2 fat cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (plus more to serve)
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives (plus more to serve)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon fine sea salt)
A very good grinding of pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons quick-cooking oats (not jumbo, gluten-free if necessary)
2 large eggs (at room temperature)

Method

Take the minced beef and black pudding out of the fridge so they lose their chill while you get on with the sauce. Pour 400ml / 1⅔ cups of cold water into a measuring jug and put it by the stove in readiness.
To make the sauce, peel and roughly chop the onions. Melt your dripping or warm the oil in a large heavy-based casserole — I use one of 26cm/10in diameter — then add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring every now and then, for about 15 minutes, or until beginning to soften and get golden in parts. If you want to do this for longer on low heat, do, after you've given them a 5-minute start on medium.
While the onions are cooking, peel the garlic and finely chop 3 tablespoons' worth of parsley. When the onions are ready, stir in the dried thyme and chopped parsley, and mince or grate in the garlic. Add the tomatoes, swilling out the empty tins with the water in your jug before pouring it into the pan.
Stir in the tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce and salt and then turn up the heat to bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat a little and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Loosen the mince with your fingers as you drop it into a large bowl. Add the black pudding, crumbling it in by hand as well.
Peel the garlic cloves, and mince or grate them into the bowl. Now finely chop another 3 tablespoons worth of parsley and 2 tablespoons of chives and transfer both to the bowl.
Add the dried thyme, salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Then sprinkle over the oats and crack in the eggs. Mix this all together with your hands, making sure it's evenly incorporated.
Get out a large baking sheet or a very large chopping board. Then tear off walnut-sized lumps of the mixture and roll them between your palms to make meatballs, placing them on the baking sheet or board as you go. You should end up making about 40.
Drop the meatballs into the sauce in concentric circles, easing them in gently. Try to get the meatballs covered by the sauce and then bring to a bubble. At which point, clamp on the lid, turn the heat down a bit, and let it simmer robustly for 15 minutes.
Take off the lid and give the pan a very gentle stir, then leave without a lid for another 15 minutes, simmering a little less robustly now, by which time the meatballs should be cooked through, and the sauce divinely intense.
Check the sauce for seasoning, then leave off the heat for 5-10 minutes. While you wait, chop some chives (and parsley if wished) to sprinkle over. Ladle into bowls and eat joyfully with bread and butter or a buttery bowl of colcannon.

Take the ground beef and blood sausage out of the fridge so they lose their chill while you get on with the sauce. Pour 400ml / 1⅔ cups of cold water into a measuring jug and put it by the stove in readiness.
To make the sauce, peel and roughly chop the onions. Melt your dripping or warm the oil in a large heavy-based casserole — I use one of 26cm/10in diameter — then add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring every now and then, for about 15 minutes, or until beginning to soften and get golden in parts. If you want to do this for longer on low heat, do, after you've given them a 5-minute start on medium.
While the onions are cooking, peel the garlic and finely chop 3 tablespoons' worth of parsley. When the onions are ready, stir in the dried thyme and chopped parsley, and mince or grate in the garlic. Add the tomatoes, swilling out the empty tins with the water in your jug before pouring it into the pan.
Stir in the tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce and salt and then turn up the heat to bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat a little and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Loosen the mince with your fingers as you drop it into a large bowl. Add the blood sausage, crumbling it in by hand as well.
Peel the garlic cloves, and mince or grate them into the bowl. Now finely chop another 3 tablespoons worth of parsley and 2 tablespoons of chives and transfer both to the bowl.
Add the dried thyme, salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Then sprinkle over the oats and crack in the eggs. Mix this all together with your hands, making sure it's evenly incorporated.
Get out a large baking sheet or a very large chopping board. Then tear off walnut-sized lumps of the mixture and roll them between your palms to make meatballs, placing them on the baking sheet or board as you go. You should end up making about 40.
Drop the meatballs into the sauce in concentric circles, easing them in gently. Try to get the meatballs covered by the sauce and then bring to a bubble. At which point, clamp on the lid, turn the heat down a bit, and let it simmer robustly for 15 minutes.
Take off the lid and give the pan a very gentle stir, then leave without a lid for another 15 minutes, simmering a little less robustly now, by which time the meatballs should be cooked through, and the sauce divinely intense.
Check the sauce for seasoning, then leave off the heat for 5-10 minutes. While you wait, chop some chives (and parsley if wished) to sprinkle over. Ladle into bowls and eat joyfully with bread and butter or a buttery bowl of colcannon.

Additional Information

MAKE AHEAD:
Prepare sauce up to 3 days ahead, cover and refrigerate or freeze as below. Form meatballs up to 1 day ahead using mince and black pudding straight from fridge. Refrigerate on baking sheets, covered loosely with food wrap. Remove from fridge 1 hour before cooking. Reheat sauce in large saucepan until just boiling, reduce to a simmer and add meatballs.

STORE:
Refrigerate leftovers, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in saucepan until piping hot.

FREEZE:
Freeze leftover cooked meatballs in sauce in airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in fridge and reheat as above. Freeze sauce only in airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in fridge.

STORE:
Refrigerate leftovers, covered, for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in saucepan until piping hot.

Tell us what you think

What 7 Others have said

I am a recent convert to black pudding so I was a bit tentative when I made these. Got black pudding from butcher and pulsed the meat together in the processor. I didn’t make the tomato sauce as was short of time so used ready made pasta sauce. Meatballs absolutely delicious! A beautiful savoury flavour and a light texture.

Posted by Mel22_ on 2nd December 2023
Made this today! Looking forward to tomorrows dinner and some freezer dinners in the future!

Posted by lynnielove on 1st February 2023
How wonderful to make meatballs with black pudding!

Posted by Kiwuck on 28th January 2023
Oh my ears and whiskers! I rolled 500g of this meatball mix out into long 'sausages' and then used them to fill sausage rolls made with Yotam Ottolenghi's lip-tingling (that'll be the chilli flakes) "hot crust" sausage roll pastry. Fabulous. I made 'normal' sausage rolls this time, but I think they would also make the most wonderful tiny 'canapé' size ones to serve hot-hot-hot at a drinks party.

Posted by Gavin-in-Chorlton on 12th January 2023
Scrumptious recipe I'm loving this they're delicious, comfort food at it's finest! Superb dish it's a winner that's for sure. Many thanks for sharing Nigella!

Posted by Odelle on 6th November 2022
I live in the States, so black pudding is hard to come by. I found some in a British bake shop yesterday so made these wonderful meatballs and I hope others do as well. The brand I bought didn’t crumble well so I had to finely dice it in order to roll into the meat mixture. No worry. We really enjoyed this unusual meal! I can’t say you really taste the black pudding as much as just sense it is there, like fois gras on a piece of toast. The tomato sauce is a wonderful accompaniment (a big YES to the Worcester sauce!) as was the mashed potatoes I made for the side. Not my most diet friendly lunch, but I did enjoy it immensely with a big Italian red wine. I love how this is British and French and Italian all at the same time.

Posted by Rossbeigh on 27th December 2021
Just discovered Nigella's recipes, made meatballs yesterday and red Leicester cauliflower cheese today! Perfect! And so easy. Oh, thanks for the tip about poaching eggs too x

Posted by AshbourneLin on 4th November 2021