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Ground Beef Meatballs
These could be baked or cooked in another sauce, or just sautéed until cooked through. I do them in this delicious tomato olive sauce and serve in bowls with a side salad.
What you need
- »«Meatballs»«
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbl Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbl minced fresh oregano leaves
- 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar or other sharp cheese
- Fresh ground black pepper
- »«Sauce»«
- 1 28oz can organic plum tomatoes whole or crushed
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced lengthwise into quarters
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 - 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2-3 tbl minced fresh oregano leaves
How to make it
- Combine meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl, pressing firmly to blend and tighten the mixture
- Form meat mixture into 1 inch balls which should make about 20-24 meatballs
- Chill for 20-30 minutes (or a couple of hours)
- Crush tomatoes if needed and set aside with sauce or juice from their can
- Heat fat in a skillet over medium heat
- Add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides
- Remove and set aside
- Add olives, garlic and red pepper flakes
- Sauté until garlic it is very fragrant, but not yet browned
- Add tomatoes, oregano and salt
- Stir and cook over medium-low to medium heat, adjusting as needed until flavors have blended -- this only takes 10-15 minutes
- Add meatballs to sauce, spooning sauce over each and cook over medium-low until meatballs are cooked through
If you use a less salty cheese you'll want to increase the salt in the meatballs to 1 tsp
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