Baked Italian Oregano Meatballs with Root Vegetable Mash

Preheat your oven to 180C. Then, bring two saucepans of water to a boil.

While waiting for the water to boil, peel and chop the turnip. Add the turnip to one saucepan and the stock to the other. Heat the stock and stir until it's fully dissolved. Once done, set the stock aside.

Next, peel and finely chop the garlic and brown onion. Also, chop the fresh parsley.

In a bowl, mix together the beef mince, half of the brown onion, half of the garlic, half of the Worcestershire sauce, and half of the fresh parsley. Don't forget to season it well with salt and pepper. Form this mixture into large meatball shapes.

Heat half of the oil in a saucepan and the remaining oil in a frying pan. Sauté the remaining garlic and onion in the saucepan until they are softened and fragrant.

In the frying pan, add the meatballs and fry until they are browned on the outside.

In the saucepan with the onion and garlic, add the stewed tomato and beef stock, and bring this mixture to a gentle boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and add the dried oregano, smoked paprika, remaining Worcestershire sauce, and harissa paste (omit if you do not like spice).

Season the sauce to taste, and stir through the tomato paste to thicken it slightly. Add the browned meatballs from the frying pan to the sauce, spooning some sauce over them.

Transfer the meatballs and sauce to the oven to bake. Bake until the meatballs are fully cooked through.

While the meatballs are baking, drain the turnip and return it to the saucepan in which it was cooked. Mash the turnip and season it with salt and pepper.

To serve, distribute the turnip mash among your serving bowls. Once the meatballs are cooked through, carefully remove them from the oven and add them to the serving bowls alongside the turnip mash.

Finish by garnishing with the remaining fresh parsley. Enjoy your meal!