Stuffed meatballs with mushrooms

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g minced meat
• 2 onions
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 250 g mushrooms
• 3 eggs
• 1 roll
• 3 tbsp flour
• a few stalks of flat-leaf parsley
• some oregano
• salt and pepper
• Oil for frying

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Zrazy m’jasni – traditional Ukrainian cuisine

For the filling, finely dice an onion and sauté in a pan with a little oil until translucent. Add the finely diced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for 10-15 minutes. To bind, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the mushrooms in the pan, stir, and sauté for a further 2-3 minutes. Add finely chopped parsley and immediately turn off the heat. Let the filling cool. Finely grate an onion into the minced meat mixture and press in the garlic. Add a soaked and squeezed-out bread roll and an egg. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano and mix well. For the breading, put 2-3 tablespoons of flour in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk 2 eggs. Now, with moistened hands, take a tennis ball-sized piece of the minced meat mixture, flatten it in your hand to form a small flatbread, and place 2 teaspoons of filling on each. Seal the edges and form compact meatballs. Roll them in flour and place them on a plate. Moisten your hands before each meatball. 500g of ground meat will yield approximately 8-9 filled meatballs. Once all the meatballs are formed, heat the pan with a little oil. Coat the meatballs again in flour, then in beaten egg. Fry on both sides in the hot pan with oil. After turning them in the pan, cover the pan, reduce the heat, and let the meatballs cook thoroughly with the lid closed. Serve with mashed potatoes and pickled fermented vegetables (see recipes in my profile – e.g., pickled cucumbers, sour tomatoes). Stuffed meatballs (zrazy m’jasni) are very traditional in Ukraine and are also prepared with other fillings. For example, with chopped egg and dill or with cheese.