Beef Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Meatballs.jpg

Serves 4
Cook Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1.5 pounds of ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
Dried oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste,
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 bottle or can of tomato sauce (about 560 g)
Note: If you're buying in the States, go for Rao's Tomato Sauce
Serve with whole wheat pasta (preferably spaghetti), zucchini noodles, or spaghetti squash

STEPS

  1. Preheat oven to 450oF
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine ground beef, half of the chopped onion, half of the minced garlic, and 1 egg. Mix with your hands to combine well 
  3. Season with dried oregano, salt and pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes
  4. Line aluminum baking sheet with a tiny bit of olive oil and use your hands to spread evenly. This is to avoid the meatballs sticking to the sheet.
  5. Use your hands to form little meatballs and spread out evenly on baking sheet. Place in the oven and let cook for 20 min. 
  6. In the meantime, add 1 tsp of olive oil or cooking spray to a medium sized pot and warm on medium high heat. Add chopped onion and let cook until translucent, stirring every so often to avoid burning the onion. Then add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. 
  7. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt and pepper (at least 1/2 tsp of each) and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let cook until meatballs are ready. 
  8. Once meatballs are done cooking in the oven (test by removing from the oven and cutting one in half to make sure there's no pink on the inside), add to tomato sauce and stir gently to combine (be careful not to be too aggressive and break apart the meatballs).
  9. When ready to serve, add tomato sauce and meatballs on top of your pasta or serve separately and let your guests serve themselves. 

 

Chloe Moussazadeh