meatballs with tomato sauce and peas

I always find myself exhausted in December, battling to stay awake when it gets dark at 4:30pm in the office. What I love about living in a country with all four seasons is that you get to wear so many different clothes all year round and experiment with several varieties of produce. However, you have to cope with below-zero temperatures and such a loooooong winter where nightfall crawls upon you way too early. The wind is howling, it’s always raining, traffic is horrendous and the sun barely shows its face anymore. You’ve probably understood by now that I absolutely hate winter… and that’s correct. I’m constantly chasing the sun and can’t wait for spring to come by again.

I’m just 14 days away from a well-deserved two-week holiday and am looking forward to getting so much done in so little time. Jon and I still have to finish decorating our apartment and I have a lot of writing and cooking to catch up on. It’s even harder to be a journalist by-day and a food blogger by-night when it gets dark so early, because by the time I get home I can’t even photograph my food anymore. I know absolutely nothing about photography and barely even know what half of the buttons on my camera are meant for, but the two things I know about food photography are (1) never use flash and (2) take photos during the day, which for me means only on weekends. And so every time I cook an amazing dish during the week, I get mad at myself for not saving it for the weekend because I would have loved to share it with you. During my break I promise to stock up on a lot of my favorite recipes.

One of my go-to recipes to get through the cold winter is for these heartwarming meatballs with tomato sauce and peas. Believe it or not, but I’m not a meat-eater at all; I hate steak, slices of veal or cold cuts, but I love anything to do with ground beef. It’s so versatile — swap the herbs for others and prepare a sauce with different ingredients and you’ll have a completely new meal on your table tonight.

These meatballs are cooked in a thick tomato sauce made out of tomato paste, water, onion, garlic and peas, rendering the meatballs so soft, moist and savory. The meatballs themselves are prepared by mixing ground beef with vegetable oil, powdered chicken stock, matsa meal (or breadcrumbs), chopped parsley, salt and pepper. This recipe calls for no eggs at all, which makes these meatballs much lighter than other versions you can find on the Internet. Serve them over basmati rice or mashed potatoes and you’ll have one happy family.

Did I already tell you how delicious they are? Find out for yourself by following the recipe below.

Two more weeks until vacation time: woot woot! I’ll have plenty of time to try out new recipes and share my favorites with you. What type of recipes would you like to see more of on the blog? Share with me your requests and suggestions on my Facebook page or by email savormania@gmail.com

meatballs with tomato sauce and peas

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Cuisine: Main course

Serves: 12 meatballs

Ingredients

Ingredients for the meatballs

• 1 pound (500g) ground beef
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon powdered chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons matsa meal or breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the sauce

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ cup (1.2dl) water
• 1 cup (250g) frozen peas

Instructions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, water, vegetable oil, powdered chicken stock, matsa meal, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Mix to thoroughly combine. Divide the mixture into 12 parts and roll into balls.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large saucepan on high heat and fry the meatballs until they get some color, about 7 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low and add the onion, garlic, tomato paste, water and peas. Carefully mix with a wooden spoon and let simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes.

Notes

SLIGHTLY ADAPTED FROM: El Secreto del Buen Sabor cookbook

3.2.2885

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