Oven hedgehogs are one of the housewives' favorite dishes. This is true, since the food is prepared very quickly, does not require special skills and expensive products, has an excellent taste and looks very appetizing.
Some people mistakenly believe that meat hedgehogs in the oven are ordinary "lazy cabbage rolls." This is not entirely true. With all the similarities, these dishes nevertheless have some differences: cabbage rolls are prepared with the addition of white cabbage, but in “hedgehogs” it is completely absent. For those who do not really favor cabbage, the second course will come in handy.
How to cook hedgehogs in the oven? To do this, prepare the following products:
1. Minced meat. It is desirable that it consisted of at least two types of meat. Most often, housewives use pork and beef. But there are those who prefer "hedgehogs" only from beef meat. If you decide to cook hedgehogs in the oven from chicken, we recommend adding a little fat or butter to the minced meat, otherwise the hedgehogs will turn out to taste dry.
2. Fig. Usually used in this dish is long-grain rice. It does not boil and remains whole. It is recommended to boil the rice until half cooked and refrigerate it before stuffing it into minced meat. It is advisable not to digest rice.
3. Onions and carrots. It is enough to grind the vegetables and add them to the minced meat, but nevertheless, most of the housewives prefer to pre-pass them in butter or vegetable oil. Pour into minced meat already chilled vegetables.
4. The egg. Adding raw eggs to the mince will make it more whole, in this case the hedgehogs keep their shape better.
5. Greens and spices. Use the greens you prefer. It can be dill, and parsley, and celery. Do not forget about salt and ground black pepper. You can use a ready-made set of spices for minced meat. To add a spicy flavor, add one or two cloves of garlic.
Combine all ingredients, knead the mass well with your hands.
Form with a wet hand small meatballs the size of a small apple and place them on a baking sheet. (Some housewives further prefer to lightly fry the “hedgehogs” in a pan.) Pour water into the baking sheet to the middle of the height of the meatballs. Cover the “hedgehogs” with foil and let it sweat for 40 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.
Next, pour the “hedgehogs” sauce. From the options below, choose the one that suits you best.
Sauce 1. Hedgehogs in sour cream.
Take a couple of tablespoons of flour and lightly heat in a pan without adding oil to a beige color. As soon as the flour changes color, pour about 2 cups of water or broth to it, while stirring with a whisk until smooth. Then add half a glass of sour cream. Salt and add sugar to taste.
Sauce 2. With mayonnaise and tomato.
Mix sour cream and mayonnaise in a 4: 1 ratio and add a few tablespoons of tomato sauce. Add salt and sugar to taste.
Sauce 3. With basil and tomato.
Pour water into the stewpan, add the tomato paste. Using a garlic press, squeeze a few cloves of garlic into a stewpan, put a few basil leaves and salt. Bring the sauce to a boil.
Sauce 4. Cheese.
Pour one and a half glasses of water into the stewpan, add three tablespoons each. sour cream and fat cream, pour about 100 g of crushed cheese. Bring the sauce to a boil and add seasoning with the taste of mushrooms or chicken.
Pour the “hedgehogs” with the prepared sauce and leave them for a third of an hour until browning in the oven. Sprinkle with herbs before serving.
Hedgehogs prepared in this way are especially tender, melt in the mouth. They are tasty as an independent dish, but you can serve them together with a side dish in the form of stewed cabbage, buckwheat, mashed potatoes.
Try also to cook according to our recipes another dish - "lazy cabbage rolls".