Phil Vickery's Monday Night Meatballs | This Morning

Presenter / Channel

• Phil Vickery on This Morning (UK daytime TV cooking segment).

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Dish: Monday Night Meatballs (Swedish-style with a twist)

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Ingredients (with quantities / substitutions mentioned)

Meatballs base

• Mincemeat (“mint”) (fat content noted; weight not specified)
  • Target: 15–20% fat for best texture
  • Problem if <10–12% fat: can become grainy/sawdusty (fixes below)
• Finely chopped onions
• Garlic: described as “lot of garlic… five… six” (exact clove count not fully consistent, but it’s clearly multiple cloves)
• Pepper
• Cheese: used less (quantity unclear; instruction implies a previous amount was too much—e.g., “don’t use two and a half”)

Roasted garlic (method reference)

• Garlic cloves: about 10–15 cloves (for roasted garlic)

Binder / thickener

• Half egg whites
• Corn flour / arrowroot / tapioca: choose one
  • Amount described as about 1 level teaspoon or tablespoon (volume unclear)

Sauce

• Chopped tomatoes + juice: 1 can (about 400 g)
• Stock cube: 110 g stock cube (liquid amount implied)
• Water: about 100 ml
• Sugar: a pinch (optional; discussed in chef notes)

Vegetable “hide it” twist

• Baby spinach leaves
  • Up to ~125 g
  • Cooks down to about a fifth

Serving option / variation

• Gnocchi (brand/type not specified)
  • Use from the pack; do not blanch
• Optional alternative: spaghetti

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Equipment & prep steps

• Pan (light cooking/sealing meatballs)
• Lid for simmering/braising (steam-covered cooking)
• Bowl for mixing (meatballs + egg white + starch binder)
• Oven / roasting tray (for roasted garlic method)
• Cooking surface / transfer surface (moving meatballs into sauce)

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Step-by-step method (technique + timings as stated)

1) Prepare garlic / onion for the mince

• If the mince is lean, fat is key:
  • If under ~10–12% fat, add fat or use the texture-improving technique.
• Add to mince:
  • Finely chopped onions
  • Garlic (“lot of garlic”)

Roasted garlic reference

• Braise/roast garlic as described: about 54 minutes, then remove and peel
• Also referenced: blanching roasted garlic three times (described as “blanch them three times”)

2) Make the meatballs mixture

• Add:
  • Pepper
  • Cheese (instruction indicates using less)
• Add half an egg white
• Add starch: about 1 level teaspoon or tablespoon of corn flour / arrowroot / tapioca (choose one)
• Mix until combined
  • Aim for loose coating (don’t over-handle)

3) Seal / brown lightly before braising

• Place meatballs in a pan (oil implied).
• Follow the cue: “not brown”
  • Only a slight seal
• The egg-white + starch helps seal, keeping meatballs juicy and helping them hold when dropped into the liquid.

4) Build the sauce and braise

• Add to the pan:
  • 400 g chopped tomatoes + juice
  • ~100 ml water
  • 110 g stock cube (and implied water/stock balance)
• Salt strategy:
  • No extra salt added (stock cube already provides salt)
  • Subtitles mention about three grams of salt in the stock and advise reducing overall salt rather than salting separately
• Optional twist:
  • Add a pinch of sugar to the tomatoes to prevent sharp/tangy flavor
• Cook:
  • Bring to the boil, then lid on
  • Cook about 5–10 minutes (until finished/controlled)
  • Goal: avoid a thick sauce—aim for one that can break apart / loosen

5) Add vegetables (spinach “hide it” trick)

• Add baby spinach
• Option stated: up to ~125 g, then it cooks down to about a fifth
• Let it wilt in quickly.

6) Serve with gnocchi (variation / side)

Gnocchi approach

• Use gnocchi straight from the pack (no blanching)
• Cook in oil (subtitles mention about 1 tablespoon of oil)
• Target: “crunchy texture” and earthy “bigness”/body.

Alternative

• Spaghetti can be used instead (mentioned as another serving possibility).

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Chef tips & common issues mentioned

• Fat matters in mince
  • 15–20% fat → nice texture/mouthfeel
  • <10–12% fat → can become grainy/sawdusty
  • Fixes: add more fat or rely on egg-white + starch coating/sealing
• Seal, don’t brown: keep meatballs juicy by only lightly sealing before braising.
• Salt strategy: don’t add extra salt because the stock cube is already salty; reduce salt overall instead.
• Garlic punch: roasted garlic (and/or extra garlic) makes garlic clearly detectable in the finished dish.
• Hide the green: spinach wilts down quickly, making it less obvious (especially for kids).
• Sauce texture: don’t thicken—aim for a sauce that loosens.

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Plating / serving cues

• Serve meatballs with the chosen carb:
  • Preferred kid-friendly texture cue: crisped/roasted gnocchi
  • Alternative mentioned: spaghetti

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Sources referenced

• No external sources clearly cited beyond the This Morning segment and Phil Vickery’s own method/notes.