This baked Greek meatballs in tomato sauce recipe is my take on Greek soutzoukakia. Tender, juicy, aromatic beef balls cooked in a tomato and red wine sauce.
A dish that will transport you to the Mediterranean and make the house smell like a Greek taverna. Serve simply with a side of Greek salad and plenty of fresh crusty bread to mop up all the delicious sauce
Sara xxx
This recipe is part of my "just recipes" collection. Short intro and the recipe, simple. Please see Belly Rumbles' recipe index for more in-depth and guided recipes.
Printable Recipe
Greek Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 slices white bread | crusts removed
- 200 ml red wine
- 500 g beef mince (ground beef)
- 1 brown onion | grated
- 3 garlic cloves | crushed
- 1 egg | beaten
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- salt & pepper
- 410 g can crushed tomatoes
- 500 ml passata
- 2 bay leaves | dried or fresh
- olive oil
Instructions
- Roughly tear bread into pieces and place in a bowl. Cover with red wine and set aside.
- Place beef, grated onion, garlic, egg, parsley, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Squeeze excess wine from the white bread, reserving the excess wine in the bowl, and place bread in the bowl with the beef.
- Using your (clean) hands mix the beef and other ingredients until completely combined. Roll mixture into meatballs (golf ball size). Place on a plate, cover with plastic film, and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour.
- Pre-heat oven 180? (360?)
- Add a good splash of olive oil to a non stick frying pan and place over a medium high heat.
- Place some meatballs in the pan. Do not crowd the pan. Brown meatballs and then place them in a large oven proof dish (with a lid).Note: You are not cooking the meatballs through, only browning the outsides.Continue this step until all meatballs are browned and placed in the oven proof dish.
- Add reserved red wine, crushed tomatoes, passata, and bay leaves to the frying pan you browned the meatballs in. Stir the mixture to combine and until it starts to bubble.
- Poor tomato mixture over the meatballs in the oven-proof dish. Place the dish on the middle rack in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
- Serve with crusty bread and a Greek salad.
Measurement Notes
All measurements are Australian metric standard. All measures are level, and cups are lightly packed unless specified. 1 teaspoon = 5ml / 1 tablespoon = 20mls / 1 cup = 250ml /4 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon.
Recipe Notes
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
The recipe's nutritional information is an approximation based on an online calculator. It is meant solely for reference purposes. If you're looking for precise details, be sure to double-check with your own research.
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