There’s a handful of recipes I own that I turn to in times of need. A shortcrust pastry recipe when I need to impress, decadent crepes for that special breakfast, and my meatballs recipe for when I’m feeling like a comfort food boost. I’ve used this recipe a number of times with a combination of beef and pork mince, or a combination of lean and regular pork mince as I think the flavour is significantly lighter with the addition of pork mince.

In this instance though, with the delivery of these luscious Mr Beak’s Chorizo sausages, I decided to see if I could substitute sausage mince into the recipe. With the sausages already richly flavoured with paprika and garlic, it required very little seasoning on my behalf, making the preparation process too easy. This was also my first experiment of stuffing the meatballs with a cheese, and I must say that the addition of goats cheese was a winning combination.

You will need:

• 4 Mr Beak’s Chorizo sausages, casings removed;
• 1/2 brown onion, finely chopped;
• One egg, lightly whisked;
• 3-4 strands fresh thyme, leaves removed;
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes;
• One slice sourdough bread, crust-removed;
• 50ml milk;
• 4 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, plus extra for serving;
• 60ml goats cheese;
• 125ml olive oil;
• One red capsicum, seeds removed, diced;
• Three tomatoes, chopped;
• Two tablespoons tomato paste;
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper;
• Freshly toasted sourdough, to serve.

Combine the sausage mince, brown onion, whisked egg, parsley, chilli flakes and fresh thyme. You won’t have to add much to this mince as it’s already incredibly flavoursome. Shred up the sourdough into a microwave-safe bowl, pour over the milk and microwave on 20 second intervals until all of the milk has been absorbed by the bread. Mash and allow to cool slightly before mixing well into the sausage mix. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut a 1cm x 1cm cube of the goats cheese. Take about tablespoonfuls of the mince and roll between wet hands into a ball before pushing open and putting your thumb in the middle to make a slight indent. Put in your cube of cheese and roll back into a ball shape, completely covering the cube of cheese.

Line up your meatballs on a tray and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Take out a large, heavy-based frying pan and heat the olive oil on a medium heat.

When the oil is hot, add the meatballs in, being careful not to simply “drop” them into the oil and get splashed.

Turn after a few minutes when the bases are well-browned and repeat with the other side.

When all are brown, remove onto a plate and cover with foil. Pour out the oil and any burnt bits before returning the pan to the heat. Add the capsicum and saute until soft before adding the tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer over a low heat, stirring until all is pulpy.

Add the meatballs, cover the pan and allow to simmer away for 10 minutes or so until aromatic and the chorizo meatballs have absorbed all the glorious flavours of the spicy sauce. Serve a couple of meatballs, sprinkled with more goats cheese and fresh parsley, with the toasted sourdough.

And a Quiet Deeds Pale Ale, if you must. All right then. Only if you insist 😉