Fluffy, delicious and one of the most favorite dishes for children and adults, soutzoukakia with puree cooked by our beloved Chef Carolina Doriti, with Wise Greece products. Let’s try them!..
Ingredients for 4-6 portions:
For the meatballs:
600 gr ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup sweet red wine (I use Greek Mavrodaphne, but can be substituted with a sweet Port or Madeira)
1 egg
90gr stale bread (no crust)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sunflower oil for frying
For the tomato sauce:
900gr fresh, ripe tomatoes (can be replaced with canned chopped tomatoes)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Theseus
3 tsp tomato paste
2 tsp Red sweet pepper pate by Dolopia
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground oregano, Adam herbs
1 tbsp grape molasses (can be substituted with a tsp of brown sugar)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 ½ cup warm water
Mashed potatoes or rice to serve
Cooking Instructions:
Put the bread in a bowl and soak in the wine for about 10-15 minutes. Strain the bread (but keep the wine that’s left) and shred it well with your fingers. In a big bowl add the ground beef, the egg, the bread, any wine that was left, the olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Knead thoroughly, cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
Shape them into small oblong meatballs and set aside.
In a frying pan, heat about ½ a cup of sunflower oil. Shallow fry your meatballs until golden brown on all sides. Place them on kitchen paper to drain the excess oil.
In a large saucepan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and bay leaves and sauté for a minute. Add the grated tomatoes (if you are using canned tomatoes instead of fresh, you should add about ½ cup extra warm water to the sauce before it starts to simmer.) Add the oregano, red pepper pate and tomato paste, ½ cup warm water and stir. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Add the meatballs carefully and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Chop the parsley and add it to the sauce. (Keep some to garnish on top).
Serve mashed potatoes on a plate and top with soutzoukakia. Pour extra sauce on top and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Products we used:
