Cuttlefish meatballs with paprika butter sauce
Herby meatballs made from cuttlefish, served with a buttery, smoky sauce – simple, elegant food to impress.
By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 2 small cuttlefish, cleaned and chopped, fins removed
- 400g/14oz beef mince
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh flatleaf parsley
- 2 garlic cloves
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú breadcrumbs
- 1 medium free-range egg, beaten
- 2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
For the paprika butter sauce
- 75g/2â…”oz unsalted butter
- 1 banana shallot, chopped
- 100ml/3½fl oz white wine
- 200ml/7fl oz fish stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 lemon, juice only
Method
To make the meatballs, blitz the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Form the mixture into golf ball sized balls. Allow to rest in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. When hot, fry the meatballs for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.
To make the sauce, melt half the butter in a saucepan and sweat the shallots for 1-2 minutes. Add the wine, fish stock and bay leaf and cook until reduced by half. Add in the remaining butter, season with paprika and finish the lemon juice.
Stir the meatballs into the sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes, then serve.