Soutzoukakia Greek Baked Meatballs In Tomato Sauce Recipes

GREEK BAKED MEATBALLS: SOUTZOUKAKIA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, place the toasted bread and cover with milk (or water) to soak. When bread is soft and well-soaked, squeeze the liquid out completely and discard remaining milk if any.
• Transfer the bread to a large mixing bowl. Add round beef and remaining meatball ingredients. Knead well until well-combined. Cover the meat mixture and rest in the fridge for now.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• While oven is heating, prepare the sauce. In a sauce pan or large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes or so. Add garlic and cook for another minute, stirring regularly. Now add red wine and cook to reduce by about 1/2, then add tomato sauce, bay leaf and remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Prepare a large baking dish and lightly oil the bottom with extra virgin olive oil.
• Take the meat mixture out of the fridge. Wet your hands and scoop portions of about 2 1/2 tbsp of the meat mixture and form into large elongated meatballs (football-shaped.) You should have 15 to 16 meatballs or so. Arrange meatballs in the papered baking dish and top with the sauce (be sure to have removed the bay leaf from the sauce.)
• Place the baking dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the meatballs are well cooked through (check part-way through to make sure sauce is not dry, and if needed, add a little bit of water to the bottom of the baking dish.)
• Remove from oven and add another drizzle of EVOO. Garnish with parsley and serve over rice or orzo.

MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE (SOUTZOUKAKIA)

Steps:

• Heat a good splash of olive oil in a cooking pot, over high heat.
• Caramelize the onion and garlic.
• Pour in the wine. Add the allspice and bay leaves. Wait until wine evaporates completely.
• Add the tomato paste, the canned tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add 4 cups of water, the sugar, ground cumin and season with salt and pepper. Simmer partly covered for about 30-40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, start making the meatballs.
• Preheat oven to 200°C / 392°F.
• In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs.
• Knead the mixture for 2-3 minutes for everything to incorporate well. It should feel very soft and moist. And just firm enough to hold some shape. Otherwise, you may add another splash of water to it.
• Divide mixture to about 14 parts. Shape each into a round ball and then give it a bit of oval shape. Place in a baking dish or pan that fits the meatballs and is deep enough to include the sauce as well.
• Once you placed all the meatballs in the pan or baking dish, pour the sauce on top all over using a ladle. Bake for about 40-50 minutes. Flipping the meatballs at least once so they cook evenly all over.
• Serve with rice, pasta, or potatoes. I added some toasted pine nuts and chopped fresh parsley on top. You can also serve them with some spicy red pepper flakes and a spoonful of Greek yogurt on top.