Spanish Meatballs In Tomato Sauce

Step 1

Start by making the tomato sauce.Finely chop 1 onion.Peel 600g of tomatoes with a serrated peeler. Chop the peeled tomatoes into small pieces.

Step 2

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan.

Step 3

Add the chopped onions.

Step 4

Add a pinch of Pimenton de la Vera (Dulce), which is Spanish smoked sweet paprika. I used 1/4 teaspoon.

Step 5

Add more if you prefer the sauce to be spicy.

Step 6

Add the chopped tomatoes to the onions mixture and stir well to combine.

Step 7

Add 1 fresh bay leaf. I used 2 dried pieces here because I couldnt find fresh ones.

Step 8

Add 1 teaspoon of sugar andd salt and pepper to taste. I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste.Cover the sauce pan and reduce the heat to a medium-low and let the tomato mixture simmer gently till it reduces to a sauce like consistency.In the meantime, make the meatballs by adding 1/2 an onion to a food processor.

Step 9

Add 2 cloves of garlic. I used 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Process till the onions and garlic are finely chopped.Sweat the onion-garlic mixture in a frying pan with some olive oil. I just realised that I had missed this step. The meatballs still tasted great.

Step 10

Add the onion-garlic mixture to 500g ground beef in a mixing bowl.Slice off the crust of 4 slices of white bread.

Step 11

Cut the soft white bread into small cubes of 1cm all round.

Step 12

Add the chopped bread to the beef mixture.

Step 13

Add 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley. Use Italian flat parsley where possible. I couldnt find any, so I used English parsley.

Step 14

Add 1 large egg.

Step 15

Add salt and pepper to taste. I used approximately 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper.

Step 16

Mix well to combine.Shape the meat mixture into balls that are slightly bigger than the size of a golf ball size.

Step 17

Roll the meat tightly to form meatballs.

Step 18

Add 3/4 cup of olive oil to frying pan. The layer of oil should be approximately 3/4cm in the pan.

Step 19

Put the pan on medium-high heat and add the meatballs to the oil. Gently roll them around in the oil to brown all surfaces and ensure even cooking.When the meatballs are a deep golden brown, remove them from the frying pan and set aside.The tomatoes-onion mixture should have reduced to a sauce consistency now. You can use a hand blender to puree the mixture. Or leave the small bits of tomatoes and onions as they are.

Step 20

Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and let the meatballs warm through.

Step 21

Garnish with more chopped parsley.