African Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Soft, juicy meatballs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce level up the traditional spaghetti and meatballs. Enjoy a spicy twist on a classic.
Servings 4
Calories 311kcal
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound (450g) ground beef
- 2 slices bread (about 28g)
- ½ cup (120ml) milk
- ¾ teaspoon (4-5g) salt (adjust to suit tastes)
- 2 tablespoons (8g) chopped parsley
- ¼ small onion, grated (makes about ¼ cup grated onion)
- 1 teaspoon (5g) minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon (1-2g) minced hot pepper or cayenne (optional, adjust to taste)
Tomato Sauce
- ¼ cup (60ml) cooking oil (canola, sunflower, etc.)
- 2 14-ounce cans tomato sauce
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 teaspoons (15g) minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon (2g) thyme (fresh or dried)
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) white pepper
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons (8g) chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon (2g) Maggie bouillon powder (optional)
- hot pepper, cayenne, scotch bonnet (optional to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) curry powder (optional)
- 1-2 cups (235-470ml) broth (beef or chicken)
- salt to taste
Instructions
The Meatballs
- Soak the bread and milk, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef with the soaked bread mixture.
- Then add parsley, white pepper, grated onions, hot pepper, and minced garlic. Lightly mix the meatball mixture with your hands and shape it into 14-16 balls, being careful not to overmix—store, covered, in the refrigerator until needed.
- In a large saucepan, heat about ¼ cup of oil over medium heat. Add meatballs, and let them sit for 3 minutes or more before moving them around. Lower flame if necessary to prevent them from browning too fast. You may have to do it in two batches (depending on the pan's size). Brown on both sides, remove them from the pan, and set aside.
Tomato Sauce
- Add chopped onion, thyme, and garlic to perfume the oil still in the pan, and stir for about a minute.
- Next, add tomato sauce, curry powder, white pepper, hot pepper, and paprika. Stir frequently to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Add salt and bouillon according to preference and about 2 cups of stock. Bring to a boil and simmer to blend all the flavors (30 minutes to an hour), stirring occasionally.
- Add the meatballs 10- 15 minutes before the sauce is ready. Adjust seasonings to your tastes and the consistency with water or stock.
- Serve hot over spaghetti, and enjoy.
Notes
- If cooking for kids, then you may want to leave the cayenne pepper or scotch bonnet pepper out.
- I have tried it with one and two cans of tomato sauce, and all works out well. Adjust the amount of cooking oil if you are only using one can of tomato sauce.
- Chicken bouillon is optional; feel free to leave it out.
- You can replace bread with French bread or rolls. Make sure they are soft before adding them to the meatballs.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 240g | Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 1471mg | Potassium: 897mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1320IU | Vitamin C: 17.6mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 4.8mg