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Italian meatballs with orzo, Halal

Katy Greenwood's Italian meatballs with orzo: Halal beef mince rolled with basil, garlic and oregano, simmered in passata and served over orzo, with the parmesan's rennet checked.

Italian · Main · Easy · 20–24 meatballs with orzo · 30 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

There is no pork or alcohol in the recipe, but the 500 g of beef mince needs Halal slaughter and the parmesan shaved over the top is made with animal rennet.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Beef mince: Beef is Halal only from an animal slaughtered the Halal way, and ordinary supermarket beef says nothing about how it was slaughtered. Buy from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Beef.
• Parmesan: Parmigiano Reggiano must be made with calf rennet, and other hard cheeses may use animal rennet. Scholars differ on rennet from animals not slaughtered the Halal way. Use a hard cheese that names microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, or one your school accepts. See Parmesan.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 small pack basil (half chopped, half kept for serving)
• 500 g Halal beef mince
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 540 g jar of passata

To serve

• 300 g orzo
• to serve parmesan or another hard cheese, shaved (see the rennet check below)

Method

1. Roll the meatballs. Chop half the basil and keep the rest for serving. Mix the chopped basil with the Halal beef mince, garlic and oregano, season, and roll into 20 to 24 meatballs.
2. Brown. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a fairly high heat and brown the meatballs all over for 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Simmer in passata. Stir in the passata and bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Cook the orzo and serve. Meanwhile, cook the orzo in a large pan of boiling water as the pack says. Drain, spoon onto a platter or plates, top with the meatballs and sauce, then shave over the cheese and scatter with the reserved basil.

Allergens

gluten (orzo), milk (parmesan)

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Italian meatballs with orzo' by Katy Greenwood (serves 4: half a small pack of basil chopped and mixed with 500 g beef mince, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp dried oregano and seasoning, rolled into 20 to 24 meatballs; browned all over 5 to 6 minutes in 1 tbsp olive oil over a fairly high heat; a 540 g jar of passata brought to the boil and simmered 10 minutes; 300 g orzo cooked as the pack says; served with parmesan shavings and the rest of the basil). We specified Halal beef mince and a hard cheese whose rennet suits your school. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph from our ingredient library: meatballs in gravy, not the finished dish from this recipe.