Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
For the Meat Balls
Preheat oven to 200°C
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 Spanish onion, finely diced
2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 granny smith apple, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon concentrated chicken stock (or bouillon cube dissolved in hot water)
1 clove garlic, finely diced
cracked black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until combined. Form into meatballs Place in an oven proof dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Tomato Sauce
6 medium vine tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
the other half of the onion, diced (see above)
1 crushed clove garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
A dozen pitted black olives, cut in quarters
1 teaspoon of capers
Four anchovy fillets, chopped
salt and pepper to season.
Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Add in the fresh tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add the vinegar and honey and cook for about a minute. Add in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer until meatballs are ready.
Puree the sauce using a hand blender. Add the meatballs to the sauce, stir, reduce the heat and allow to sit at the lower heat for a few minutes.
Serve with a side salad and crusty bread.
This sounds delicious! I would love to eat this, but would not enjoy the work involved in making them. Lol.
gigi – It is actually a very easy meal to pull together. You could in fact make the sauce ahead of time and have it ready to pour over the meatballs and bring up to heat in the oven.
I love the apple bits in the meatball – very unusual so must try. I have a chicken pasta dish that has sour apples and it is marvellous.
XO
WWW
I hope you’re feeling better 🙂
WWW – I love adding fruit to savory dishes.
Sauce sounds a little like a Puttanesca though I’d have to leave the anchovies out (Hubby). Would you serve the meatballs on spaghetti? Or a sandwich bun?
Alice – Sorry, I forgot to mention the pasta! 🙁 I have used use spaghetti, fusilli and even penne at different times depending on my mood.