Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
3:00 PMI was inspired recently by my dad's cooking adventure to make a dish we grew up with -- Tifteli, which is a Russian style meatball in tomato sauce. It's gluten free, because it uses rice and egg to bind instead of bread crumbs. I didn't have rice, so I tried substituting quinoa. I've also been getting more comfortable with using a cast iron skillet and wanted to get a nice sear on the meatballs. Welcome my version of Meatballs in Tomato Sauce. No fancy name here. Just all the deliciousness.
For those of you who, like me, are afraid of putting acid in your cast iron for fear of corrosion, after much research, I have learned that if it is seasoned well enough, this shouldn't be an issue! Also, learned from my dad, I highly recommend adding fresh basil into the meat mixture -- it makes it so flavorful!
Apologies for the slightly pink meatball in the middle still working on its all around sear, but the cast iron creates the most beautiful sear. I placed the meatballs in the cast iron as I was rolling more meatballs, knowing that they'd have more time to cook fully while in the sauce, but feel free to roll them all first, then place into the cast iron skillet for a more uniform cook.
Meatballs in Tomato Sauce:
Ingredients:
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1.34 lb ground beef (about 2 cups)
1 large egg
1/4 c chopped basil
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin
3 tsp salt
3 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to your spice preference)
1 c cooked quinoa
2 cups marinara sauce (I used Rao's Homemade)
Directions:
1) Heat a seasoned cast iron skillet with 2 tbsp olive oil until evenly hot.
2) In another skillet (I used non-stick) sauté the chopped onion in 1 tbsp olive oil with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Sautee until golden brown and soft.
3) Once cooked, transfer cooked onions into a bowl to help it cool quicker.
3) In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, basil, remaining spices, quinoa, egg, room temperature cooked onions. Be careful not to over mix.
4) Roll into balls about the size of your palm. Should make about 24 meatballs.
5) Place meatballs into heated cast iron skillet, leaving some room between each.
6) Flip the meatballs once they form a nice sear on one side, about 2-4 minutes per side. I seared 4 sides. Be sure to sear at least 2 sides, but the more sides with darker color, the better! Be sure that all sides are browned, at minimum.
7) Once the outside of the meatballs is browned, top with marinara sauce. Add 1 cup of water. Reduce to a simmer
8) Let meatballs simmer in the sauce for 20-25 minutes. Flip meatballs every 5-7 minutes to ensure they absorb the tomato flavor
9) Enjoy! Feel free to top with cheese or red pepper flakes
Happy Cast Iron Cooking!
<3 TTT
0 comments