Eat Smarter USA | Eat Healthy. Live Smarter.
Ingredients
Spanish-Style Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
- For the meatballs
- 4 Tbsps Pine nuts
- 1 onion
- 3 Tbsps olive oil
- 2 slices Toast
- 600 grams mixed Ground meat
- 1 egg
- salt
- freshly ground peppers
- 1 tsp sweet ground paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp wild fennel seeds (freshly ground)
- For the sauce
- 2 garlic cloves
- 600 grams chopped Tomatoes (canned)
- 120 milliliters Vegetable broth
- 3 Tbsps olive oil
- ½ cinnamon ring cookie (crushed)
- sugar
- rosemary (for garnish)
Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet until golden-brown. Remove and set 2 tablespoons aside as a garnish. Peel and finely chop onion. In a hot pan, cook onion in 1 tablespoon oil until translucent. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove crust from toasted bread and soak in lukewarm water.
In a bowl, combine ground meat, pine nuts, onion, egg and toast (squeezed to remove water). Season with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika and fennel seeds. Mix well.
Form mixture into small meatballs. In remaining oil, fry meatballs until golden-brown.
Peel garlic. In a large mixing bowl, combine garlic, tomatoes and vegetable broth. In a thin stream, stir in olive oil. Season sauce with the cinnamon stick, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
Transfer tomato sauce to a pot. Add meatballs and cook until warmed through.
Divide meatballs and sauce among small bowls and garnish with rosemary and reserved pine nuts.