Soutzoukakia
Want to be blown away by a filling and warming Greek dish? Give Soutzoukakia a try, a dish spiced up with cinnamon and cumin and cooked with red wine. The breadcrumbs and ground beef combination make the meatballs extra-yummy. This gets even better thanks to the thick tomato sauce. Serve it with a side dish like cooked rice.
Ingredients Needed for Soutzoukakia
For the meatballs:
12 ounces of ground beef
½ cup breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons of cumin powder
2 eggs
vegetable oil
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon sugar
salt
pepper
½ cup red wine
1 bay leaf
1 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon black olive, seeded and chopped
How to Make Soutzoukakia
- For the meatballs:
Add the ground beef, breadcrumbs, garlic, cinnamon, cumin powder, and eggs to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix with your hands.
- Start forming cylindrical meatballs. We’ve got 9 of them and cooked them in 2 batches.
- Fill a skillet halfway with vegetable oil and heat it over medium heat. Fry the meatballs on both sides until browned. Set aside.
- For the sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until tender.
- Add the cumin powder and sugar, season with salt and pepper, and stir a little. Keep adding the red wine, bay leaf, tomato paste, and black olives. Stir and cook for 1 minute or so, then remove the bay leaf.
- Add the meatballs to the skillet. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve with cooked rice. You may garnish with chopped parsley, too.