Fresh Tuna Meatballs in Tomato Sauce – Typical Jamie Oliver Goodness

Shh! Don’t tell my husband that I’m in love with Jamie Oliver. It’s not real love. It’s more of a cooking crush. I’d welcome him into my kitchen any old-time. Sweet smile, sweet disposition, aiming to improve everyone’s culinary life.

Jamie Oliver wrote “jamie’s italy,” a cookbook after my own heart. Funny how every time you read a cookbook you see something different. This time my heart skipped a beat over “the best tuna meatballs.” It skipped another beat after I read it through and realized that it looked doable and I have all the ingredients on hand, except for the fresh tuna. That’s my kind of recipe.

Tomato Sauce(double batch)

• 1 1/2 T olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1 28 oz can plum tomatoes
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/2 t coconut sugar (or regular)
• small bunch of flat leaved parsley, stems removed and roughly chopped

Fresh Tuna Meatballs

• 14 oz fresh tuna
• 1 1/2 T olive oil
• 1/2 c pine nuts
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• a pinch of red pepper flakes
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1 c fresh flat-leafed parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 c homemade breadcrumbs
• 1 c freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs
• zest and juice of 1 lemon

Chop the tuna into 1″ cubes. Heat some olive oil in a pan, then add the tuna, pinenuts and cinnamon, lightly seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes, flipping and mixing to partially sear the tuna and toast the pine nuts.

Place the tuna mixture in a bowl to cool down for 5 minutes before adding all the remaining ingredients. Use your hands to mix, squashing the tuna to blend it with all the other ingredients. Form uniform balls a bit smaller than golf balls. Place the tuna meatballs on an oiled tray and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat a little olive oil in the pan, then add tuna meatballs, flipping until they are evenly brown, which takes about 4 1/2 minutes. Serve in tomato sauce on top of spaghetti, garnished with chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. Or, serve as an appetizer in an Asian spoon.

Fresh Tuna Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Print Ready Recipe

Final notes:

• This isn’t stealing, it’s promoting. Jamie gave me permission to post his recipes on my blog as long as I gave him credit. Thank you, Jamie!
• I did make one little Jittery Cook alteration. The 1/2 teaspoon of coconut sugar was my brother’s wonderful suggestion.
• After completing this post, I found the original, on Jamie’s site Oh well. At least you know this recipe is tried and true. If I can make it, you can too.
• Check out Jamie making Tuna Meatballs, in 2006, live on “The Today Show“.