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1
Start by making the tomato sauce.
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2
Finely chop 1 onion.
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3
Peel 600g of tomatoes with a serrated peeler. Chop the peeled tomatoes into small pieces.
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4
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the chopped onions.
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5
Add a pinch of Pimenton de la Vera (Dulce), which is Spanish smoked sweet paprika. I used 1/4 teaspoon. Add more if you prefer the sauce to be spicy.
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6
Add the chopped tomatoes to the onions mixture and stir well to combine.
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7
Add 1 fresh bay leaf. I used 2 dried pieces here because I couldn't find fresh ones.
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8
Add 1 teaspoon of sugar andd salt and pepper to taste. I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste.
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9
Cover the sauce pan and reduce the heat to a medium-low and let the tomato mixture simmer gently till it reduces to a sauce like consistency.
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10
In the meantime, make the meatballs by adding 1/2 an onion to a food processor.
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11
Add 2 cloves of garlic. I used 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Process till the onions and garlic are finely chopped.
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12
Sweat the onion-garlic mixture in a frying pan with some olive oil. I just realised that I had missed this step. The meatballs still tasted great.
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13
Add the onion-garlic mixture to 500g ground beef in a mixing bowl.
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14
Slice off the crust of 4 slices of white bread. Cut the soft white bread into small cubes of 1cm all round.
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15
Add the chopped bread to the beef mixture.
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16
Add 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley. Use Italian flat parsley where possible. I couldn't find any, so I used English parsley.
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17
Add 1 large egg.
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18
Add salt and pepper to taste. I used approximately 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of black pepper.
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19
Mix well to combine.
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20
Shape the meat mixture into balls that are slightly bigger than the size of a golf ball size. Roll the meat tightly to form meatballs.
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21
Add 3/4 cup of olive oil to frying pan. The layer of oil should be approximately 3/4cm in the pan.
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22
Put the pan on medium-high heat and add the meatballs to the oil. Gently roll them around in the oil to brown all surfaces and ensure even cooking.
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23
When the meatballs are a deep golden brown, remove them from the frying pan and set aside.
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24
The tomatoes-onion mixture should have reduced to a sauce consistency now. You can use a hand blender to puree the mixture. Or leave the small bits of tomatoes and onions as they are.
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25
Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce and let the meatballs warm through.
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26
Garnish with more chopped parsley.
