A splendid combination of meatballs plus a herby tomato base makes these meatballs in tomato sauce pretty special but these meatballs are also delicious in a sandwich. I enjoy making meatballs as the process is very relaxing. Whether you opt for pork only, beef only or a mixture of both, the results are always tasty. I generally prefer a mix of beef and pork mince.
If your meatballs are going into a sauce then I can guarantee that regardless of what kind of minced meat you use, they’re going to be soft and succulent in the sauce. They definitely are in this tomato sauce.
The little bit of flour in this recipe is just to add an extra thickness to the sauce and is optional. I have several recipes for meatballs in sauce and will make any of them, depending on what I am craving. Sometimes it’s a brown flour-based and very peppery sauce or a tomato-herb sauce or even a silky and creamy indulgent one.
These meatballs are wonderfully spiced with garlic, onions, black, red and white pepper and mustard seeds. They also have eggs and white bread in them.
Before salting your entire mix of mince and spices, salt it minimally and fry a small test batch to adjust for salt. In my experience, it is pretty easy to oversalt the meatballs, so frying a small test portion alleviates that problem. As the meatballs are going to go into the sauce, it is much better if they are undersalted than oversalted.
You can also make the meatballs larger or smaller depending on how you want them. If they are much smaller then ensure that you are using a large pot to cook the sauce in, so that the meatballs are not crowded and at the risk of falling apart.
And voila! There we have it. Meatballs made from scratch in a tasty and spicy tomato sauce. If you don't like peppery food, you can leave the kpakposhito out. What I also like to do is save a couple of the meatballs and make a sandwich with them. If you are not a meat lover at all and have somehow managed to make it this far then you should definitely try these mackerel fish cakes.
Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 500 grams minced beef
- 250 grams minced pork
- 2 eggs small
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 1 large onion grated
- 1 slice white bread soaked in water or milk
- 1 tsp black peppercorns crushed
- red chilli powder
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- lemon basil
- 5 large tomatoes blended
- 6 kpakposhito (Pettie Belle) blended
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 1 tbsp flour optional
- oregano
- white pepper
- salt
- vegetable oil
Instructions
- Let the minced meat come to room temperature and in the meantime crush black pepper and mustard seeds.
- Soak bread in water or milk and then squeeze out the liquid.
- Mix minced meat with eggs, grated garlic, grated onion, lemon basil, black pepper, mustard seeds, red pepper and bread in a large bowl.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the mixture, mix thoroughly and fry a small test portion to taste the salt level. Adjust if insufficient.
- Form medium-sized balls from the mixture and fry in a pan until they are brown in colour and set aside.
- Heat a pot with vegetable oil and sweat onions and garlic for about a minute then add flour. Stir flour until it is just about turning brown.
- Add tomato paste and fry for about 2 minutes and then add blended tomatoes and blended kpakposhito and cook for 4 minutes. Add stock or water and cook for a further 15 minutes.
- Taste for salt and then add meatballs and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon basil, oregano and white pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve with spaghetti or pasta of your choice.
Sylvia Nyarkoa says
I did follow the recipe was really well explained and easy to follow. It was successful
Edinam says
Thank you! I am glad it was successful.