Meatballs In Tangy Cranberry Sauce

I love stumbling across what I like to think of as 'happy surprise' recipes. 'Happy surprise' recipes are those rare, culinary gems that require so little effort, that you're quite sure that they'll deliver comparatively unimpressive results. Only they don't. Surprise! A minimal investment of effort is occasionally all it takes to produce a dish with maximum wow value. This is one of those happy occasions. These tender meatballs poached in a tangy cranberry sauce can be assembled in mere minutes - you don't so much as need to chop an onion - and make the perfect, warming, winter meal. Surprise your family today.

1 can jellied cranberry sauce 1/4 cup honey 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 cup beef stock 1 tablespoon cornflour 1 teaspoon crushed garlic 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes Approximately 500 grams ready-made meatballs* Chopped parsley to garnish 1: Whisk all ingredients together - apart from meatballs obviously - until combined and relatively smooth. 2: Pour into a medium sized pot, add defrosted meatballs, stir to coat and then simmer for approximately 20- 25 minutes till meatballs have cooked through and sauce has thickened. 3: Sprinkle over parsley and check sauce seasoning - add extra honey if too tart - and serve meatballs with rice or mashed potato. COOK'S NOTES: Meatland sell super versatile ready-made frozen meatballs. Simply defrost and cook as described. These ready-made meatballs are also great when defrosted and flattened slightly then fried to make mini-burgers. If you don't have our meatballs at hand, you can make your own, by mixing finely chopped onion with breadcrumbs then adding ground beef, seasoning and an egg. Roll into balls and place in freezer for 15 minutes before using so that they firm up. Feel free to substitute beef meatballs with turkey or chicken and add baby carrots, sliced zucchini and cubed potato while cooking if desired.