Do you want to know how to make meatballs tasty and right? Then I am sharing with you a proven recipe and cooking secrets that will help you prepare them quickly, tasty and right!
Photo of cooked meatballs Recipe content:
- Secrets and Tips
- Ingredients
- Step by step cooking
- Video recipe
Meatballs in tomato sauce are a classic in our daily cuisine, they are often prepared by many families, which is not really surprising, because This is an extremely satisfying, simple, inexpensive and mouth-watering dish adored by adults and children. The options for making balls are quite diverse: they are fried in oil, steamed, baked in the oven, stewed in sauce. The set of products is a bit similar to the composition of cutlets, but there are still differences. The meatball recipe can be varied each time using different components included in the minced meat, which allows you to constantly get a new recipe for the original dish. For example, cabbage, beans, zucchini, carrots, rice or pearl barley are put in meatballs. In addition to classic meat, sausages are added to the minced meat, then the famous Koenigsberg meatballs are obtained. The sauce in which they are stewed also affects the taste of the finished meatballs. Indeed, depending on the recipe, the gravy may contain tomatoes, sour cream, cream, mustard, soy sauce or combined products. With such a huge variety of options for making meatballs, they can be suitable for people who are on a diet and monitor their weight.
Secrets and useful tips for making meatballs
- If you make meatballs on the stove, then so that they do not fall apart during the stewing process, first fry them on both sides at a speed of 5-7 minutes.
- If you bake meatballs in the oven, then for greater tenderness, cover them with foil.
- If you want to save time, cook meatballs in the oven.
- If you want to save more nutrients in minced meat or prepare a dietary dish for a children's menu - also cook meatballs in the oven.
- If you make meatballs for men or want them to be more fatty, satisfying and nutritious, add lard to the minced meat.
- To thicken the sauce, put 1 tbsp. corn starch.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 160 kcal.
- Servings - 20
- Cooking time - 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- Pork - 1 kg
- Rice - 150 g
- Onions - 2 pcs.
- Garlic - 3 cloves
- Tomatoes - 6-8 pcs.
- Bay leaf - 3 pcs.
- Allspice peas - 5 pcs.
- Salt - 1.5 tsp or to taste
- Ground black pepper - 0.5 tsp or to taste
- Vegetable oil - for frying
Cooking meatballs in tomato sauce
1. Boil rice in salted water until half cooked.
2. Wash the meat, peel the onion and garlic. Slice the food to fit in the neck of the meat grinder.
3. Grind the meat, onion and garlic through a meat grinder.
4. Add rice to the minced meat, it will help the meatballs stick better.
5. Season the minced meat with salt, ground pepper and any spices. I like to use ground nutmeg and ginger.
6. Mix the minced meat well. The mass must adhere well, for this, beat off the minced meat on a board or table so that a resounding slap is heard when hitting the surface. Then the meatballs will not fall apart in the pan during further cooking.
7. Form round balls 4–5 cm in diameter.
8. Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil and fry the meatballs on both sides until golden brown.
9. Place the fried meatballs in a heavy saucepan with a thick bottom.
10. Now prepare the sauce. Wash the tomatoes, cut into slices and place in a food processor.
11. Chop the tomatoes to a puree consistency. This process can be done with a blender or by twisting the tomatoes through a meat grinder.
12. Pour the tomato mass into the pan, add bay leaf, peppercorns, salt and pepper.
13. Boil the sauce for about 5-7 minutes.
14. Fill the meatballs with the dressing. Close the pan with a lid and send the meatballs to the oven for 45 minutes at 200 degrees.
15. Serve the finished meatballs hot, pouring them with juicy sauce.
See also a video recipe on how to cook meatballs with rice in tomato and vegetable sauce:
