Baked Hedgehog Meatballs with Pork and Rice

Mince with rice

1. Baked hedgehogs will turn out tasty and juicy if you use good rice and make plenty of sauce. I use long-grain parboiled rice, which is sold in shops as “steamed” rice.

   

2. Boil the rice until half-cooked. It is hard to say which proportions of rice and water give the desired result. I boil the rice in plenty of water over medium heat, tasting it for doneness. When the grains are soft but still clearly raw right in the center, I simply drain them in a colander and let the water run off. The rice should be only 60-70% done, no more.

   

3. Meanwhile, make the pork mince: put the meat through a meat grinder, nothing difficult. You can use the onion raw, grinding it together with the meat as for ordinary pork patties. But I prefer to add fried onion to the mince, which makes the hedgehogs tastier.

4. Fry the onion. Peel and finely chop the onion. Fry it in vegetable oil over medium heat until golden. Then transfer the onion to a saucer, and leave the remaining oil in the pan for browning the hedgehogs before baking.

5. Mix the mince. In a large bowl, combine the pork mince, fried onion, boiled rice and spices: salt, black pepper, and chili if you like.

   

   Mix thoroughly so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. If the mince falls apart when you shape the balls, you will need to add a binder: egg, flour or breadcrumbs. But as a rule, this is not required. As the meatballs simmer, the undercooked rice absorbs some of the moisture and the mince firms up, which keeps it from falling apart in the sauce.

   

Sauce for the hedgehogs

1. For the sauce I don’t use tomato paste. I prefer canned tomato pulp sold in jars, mixed with 15-20% cream rather than sour cream, as many recipes recommend. Quite often the sour cream is not of the best quality, and when heated it forms lumps that look like cottage cheese.

2. Make the sauce. Put the tomato pulp (400 g) in a blender, add the cream (100 ml) and a chopped garlic clove. Season with a little salt and pepper, then blend until a smooth purée.

   

Shaping and baking the hedgehogs

1. Shape the hedgehogs. This amount of meat and rice makes 8-10 of them. With wet hands, divide all the mince into portions and roll them into balls. Be sure to compact the mince by squeezing it with your fingers. This strengthens the structure of the meatballs, so the hedgehogs won’t crack in the oven. If you feel the mince will fall apart, don’t risk it: add a little flour and knead it again. Then shape the balls again.

   

2. Fry the balls in the vegetable oil left from frying the onion over medium heat until lightly browned. Do this carefully and briefly, because the rice grains can darken in hot oil. Turn the hedgehogs often so they brown evenly. Meanwhile, prepare a fairly wide baking dish with high sides.

   

3. Place the fried meatballs in the dish with enough space between them. Pour over any oil left in the pan. Carefully pour the tomato-cream sauce into the gaps between the balls, trying not to get sauce on top of them. The sauce will come up about halfway up the meatballs.

   

4. Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C, uncovered, for about an hour. With this much meat and sauce, it takes a good while to heat up to a boil. Once the sauce starts boiling, the dish should cook in the oven for more than 20 mins, which guarantees the pork is cooked. It is important that the rice finishes cooking completely, so taste it for firmness.

   

Serving

1. Serve the hedgehogs hot, in the sauce. If you like, sprinkle the dish with finely chopped green onion or parsley before serving. Pork and rice hedgehogs don’t need a side dish, as the dish is filling on its own. But fresh bread with such a tasty dish and so much sauce is a must.

   

   Chicken hedgehogs are made the same way. But since the mince is softer, increase the amount of rice. You can also add a little curry to chicken mince, which is always good. Sometimes we make these hedgehogs and serve them with couscous, which I really like. By the way, they can be made ahead and reheated, adding a little water to the sauce, as it sets firmly when cold.