Oven baked meatballs (basic recipe)

Trying to make oven baked meatballs (baby friendly) taste like fried ones was a "trial and error" kind of process. In the end, I found the perfect recipe to make tasty meatballs, juicy and with a slightly crispy crust. This is the "basic" recipe, though, so be creative and add any ingredients you like: vegetables, greens, ground nuts or seeds.

For this recipe I used:
- 700g ground beef;
- one egg;
- one onion;
- 2 garlic cloves;
- 2 Tbsp bread crumbs + some extra, for the crust;
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

Finely chop the onion and garlic, add the meat, egg and bread crumbs and mix well. Leave in the fridge for 12 h. Wet your hands and form the mixture into meatballs, rolling every one of them into breadcrumbs to coat. Place the meatballs in a tray lined with baking paper and bake in the preheated oven, at 210-220 C until they are browned.

To obtain meatballs with a perfect texture, similar to those fried in oil:
- The mixture shouldn't be soft, you should be able to shape spherical meatballs that won't lose their shape in the tray;
- If you don't have bread crumbs, you can use a slice of bread soaked in water (and drained) or a grated raw potato (drained);
- The bread crumb crust gives a crunchier note;
-  Baking at very high temperature has the role of sealing the crust so that the juices stay inside;
- If you use less than 700g of meat, you might need to add less than 1 egg; slightly beat the egg in a separate bowl and then add as much as you need; if you think the mix is too moist, add some more breadcrumbs.

Enjoy!