Greek Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Keftedes Giouvetsi)
(455 votes, average: 4.87 out of 5)Loading...
Author:Eli K. Giannopoulos
Prep Time:15 min
Cook Time:60 min
Total Time:1 hour 15 minutes
Yield:6 portions 1x
Category:Main
Method:Baked
Cuisine:Greek
Description
The traditional diced beef is substituted with fried meatballs (keftedes) and then baked in a rich tomato based sauce and orzo pasta or chilopites giving it that extra fresh Mediterranean flavour.
Ingredients
Scale
For the keftedes
600g ground pork (20 ounces)
1 egg
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
some flour for dredging
For the tomato sauce
1/4 of a cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
400g canned chopped tomatoes (14 ounces)
400g canned tomato sauce (14 ounces)
1 tsp sugar
salt
3 cups of warm water
500g/18 ounces chilopites (egg pasta, cut into little square pieces). Alternatively substitute with orzo pasta.
To prepare the meatballs (keftedes), finely chop the onion and garlic. Into a hot pan, add 3 tbsps of olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic, until tender.
In the meantime, add in a large bowl the minced pork along with the egg, the breadcrumbs and chopped parsley. Season well with salt and pepper. Add the onions and garlic and mix well, squeezing the ingredients with your hands, until combined.
Roll the mixture for the keftedakia into balls the size of a walnut (or bigger if you prefer). On the bottom of a tray, add some flour and dredge the rolled meatballs lightly in flour, making sure to shake off any excess.
Pour some oil into a hot pan oil and fry the keftedakia, until nicely coloured on all sides. Place the meatballs on some kitchen paper to dry.
To prepare the tomato sauce, heat a deep pan over medium heat. Pour in the olive oil and the chopped onion and garlic and sauté. Add the chopped tomatoes, the tomato sauce, 1 1/2 cup of water, a pinch of sugar, season and stir. Let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C. Into a fireproof tray, add the sauce, along with the meatballs (keftedes) and the pasta and stir. Cover with some aluminium foil and bake for approx. 40 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Midway through cooking time, add 1 1/2 cup of warm water and remove the aluminum foil. (If the pan appears to be getting dry, pour in some more hot water). At the end, add the crumbled feta cheese and stir with a wooden spoon. Enjoy!
(455 votes, average: 4.87 out of 5)
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