Beef Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Preparation Time: 1-2 hours  

Level of Difficulty: Light-medium 

Kashrut Type: Meat 

A simple recipe for extremely tasty, firm beef meatballs, which are slowly cooked in tomato sauce. You can eat them hot or cold, and the day after the preparation they will taste even better. 

These meatballs are prepared without frying and without eggs. In the minced beef there is a protein called myosine that “glues” the meatball ingredients to each other. The potato and breadcrumbs provide the fluffiness and aromas. 

Cooking the meatballs in the sauce can be shortened, but it is best to reduce the flame of the stove to a minimum and let them cook slowly and absorb the flavors of the sauce well. What’s more, the smell of cooking is so good that you want it to last as long as possible. 

You can serve as soon as the preparation is finished, on rice or couscous (which will absorb the sauce and its great taste) or as meatballs with pasta. You can serve them the next day in pita halves with tahini, and they will taste even better.  

INGREDIENTS 

(Recipe yields about 25 meatballs) 

½ kg ground beef  

½ coarsely grated and well-squeezed onion 

1 small potato, finely grated and well-squeezed 

½ cup breadcrumbs (not ready-made but from real bread. You can scrape in the crusts from Shabbat challah) 

1 crushed garlic clove  

A handful of finely chopped parsley 

¼ teaspoon salt 

Sauce: 

400g peeled tomatoes 

3-4 tablespoons tomato paste 

1 cup water 

½ chopped onion 

2 cloves garlic slices 

½ carrot cut into small cubes 

2 tablespoons celery root cut into small cubes 

½ teaspoon sugar 

Salt to taste 

Turmeric, Cumin 

PREPARATION 

1. Mix the ingredients with moist hands and form balls about 4 cm in diameter. Arrange on a plate, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate. It’s best, if possible, to leave refrigerated for 2 hours. If you can’t, it’s enough to have them refrigerated during the preparation of the sauce.
2. Prepare the sauce:  
   1. Fry the onion until it is translucent.  
   2. Add the carrots and celery root and fry while stirring for 3-4 minutes.  
   3. Add the garlic and continue steaming for about two minutes (be careful not to scorch the garlic).  
   4. Chop and add the peeled tomatoes and their juice from the can.  
   5. Add salt, sugar, turmeric, and cumin.  
   6. Mix the tomato paste with water and add.  
   7. Bring to the boil, and then reduce the fire and cook for about 15 minutes. 

      3. Add meatballs to the sauce: 

1. 1. Remove the pot from the fire.  
   2. Remove about half of the sauce from the saucepan.  
   3. Remove the meatballs from the fridge and gently slide them into the sauce, one by one. 
   4. Pour the rest of the sauce over the meatballs.  

      4. Cover and cook over a very low heat for about an hour. 

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Shuki Galili has been marketing online and has been editing the Humus101 blog for the masses since 2006. He has served in editorial roles and as a reporter for technology and food in the daily press, news sites, and print. He is one of the founding generations of the Internet in Israel and has been involved in the establishment, development and promotion (SEO) of dozens of websites and blogs, many of them related to social activity.