Soutzoukakia

  • Difficulty: Medium
  • 35 minutes
  • 3 servings

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

  1. 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.

  2. Start forming cylindrical meatballs. We’ve got 9 of them and cooked them in 2 batches.
  3. Fill a skillet halfway with vegetable oil and heat it over medium heat. Fry the meatballs on both sides until browned. Set aside.
  4. For the sauce:

    Heat the olive oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until tender.

  5. 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.
  6. Add the meatballs to the skillet. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes.
  7. Serve with cooked rice. You may garnish with chopped parsley, too.

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