Giant meatballs with a mozarella surprise

Adapted from Taste.com.au, Serves 4. Meatball Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
500g beef mince
500g pork mince
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs (just blend a piece of day-old bread)
2 tablespoons fresh ricotta
1 egg, lightly whisked
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8 small bocconcini mozzarella
Finely grated Parmesan to serve

Tomato Sauce ingredients (can be substituted with bought sauce)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 long red chilli, seeded, finely chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
700ml bottle tomato passata
1 dried bay leaf

Pasta, rice or crusty bread to serve

For the tomato sauce, heat oil in a large oven-proof saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add the tomatoes, passata and bay leaf. Season. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and thyme, and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine beef and pork mince, breadcrumbs, ricotta, egg, parmesan, parsley, garlic and onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Divide mixture into 8 even portions, and roll each into a large ball (tennis ball sized). Create a hole in each meatball with your fingers, insert a bocconcini ball and cover the ball with the mince mixture. Place the meatballs on a lined oven tray. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the tomato sauce. Return to the oven, and cook for a further 30 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Serve with pasta, rice or crusty bread.