Beef Meatballs in Rich Tomato Sauce

• μερίδες: 10

Υλικά

**Meatballs:**

White sandwich bread , crusts removed , diced - 4 slices

Brown onion, grated - 350 g ~2

Beef mince - 1500g

Egg, beaten - 2 eggs

Parsley, finely chopped - 0.5 bunch

Garlic cloves, minced - 6 pieces

Parmesan, grated - 40g

Salt - 2 tsp

Black pepper - 1 tsp

**Lentil Balls:**

Brown lentils - 2 cups

(Cook the lentils and then make as per meat but replaced with lentils. The lentils should bind but if they do not, blend a small amount of lentils and add to mix).

**Rich Tomato Sauce:**

Olive oil, for cooking

Garlic cloves, finely minced - 4 pieces

Brown onion , large, finely diced - 150g ~1 piece

Tomato paste - 10g

Tomato passata - 700g

Tinned diced tomato - 400g

Water - 250g

Chilli flakes - 2 tsp

Pomegranate molasses - 1 tsp

Balsamic vinegar - 1 tsp

Bay leaves - 2

Italian herb mix, dried (parsley, basil, thyme, oregano) - 6 tsp

Salt - 6g

Black pepper, for seasoning

Οδηγίες

**Video** https://www.recipetineats.com/classic-italian-meatballs-extra-soft-and-juicy/#jump-watch

1 Grate the onion using a standard box grater in a large bowl until you have about 1/2 cup of grated onion and juices.

2 Add bread, mix to combine so the onion juice soaks the bread and disintegrates. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients (5 min or so).

3 Add all the remaining meatball ingredients. Use hands to mix well.

4 Measure out a heaped tablespoon and roll lightly to form a ball or use an Ince cream scoop to form the balls. Repeat with remaining mixture.

5 Heat olive oil in a large non stick fry pan over medium high heat. Add the meatballs and brown all over – about 3 – 4 minutes. If needed you can push the meatballs a bit flatter to help with the cooking.

6 When they are browned but NOT cooked through, carefully set aside.

**Cooking & Sauce:**

1 Except for the garlic, measure all of the ingredients into a single bowl to save time.

2 Bring a fry pan to medium heat and add olive oil.

3 Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add the remaining Rich Tomato Sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer, then turn down to medium low so it simmers gently rather than bubbling.

4 Carefully put the meatballs and any juices that have pooled into the sauce in the pan.

4 Cook the meatballs for 8 – 10 minutes, turning and stirring occasionally.

5 When finished, remove the bay leaves from the sauce and season with salt and pepper

Σημειώσεις

**Tip #1: Use White Bread**

Soaked bread = soft meatballs. Bread soaked in some form of liquid puffs up when cooked, creating little air pockets that makes meatballs extra soft. It works far better than ordinary breadcrumbs which has the tendency to make meatballs tough.

**Tip #2: Soak Bread in Grated Onion = Better Flavour. **

Grating the onions releases their juices which is used to soak the bread, rather than milk or water, and so the liquid balance is not thrown out of balance.

No need to cook onion separately – If you use raw diced onion in the meatballs, you run the risk of having raw onions in them, otherwise you have to cook them for longer which overcooks them and makes them hard.

No need to finely chop the onion – because unless they are very finely diced, there is a tendency for the onion to affect how well the meatball holds together. Make your life easier – grate the onion!

**Tip #3: Use Ice Cream Scoop**

Using an ice cream scoop to rom the meat balls is super simple and works!