Soudzoukakia

A delicious and naturally extremely popular greek recipe.  Spicy meatballs in a rich tomato sauce.  It's origins are turkish, from the city of Smyrni (now Izmir).  The spice is cumin with lots of garlic.

The meatballs are rolled out into an oblong shape and fried

We serve ours with mashed potato or rice and a glass of red wine

Ingredients

Meatballs -

500 grams of minced meat.  We use beef mince

1 egg

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

3 or 4 slices of stale bread soaked in water (some soak the bread in red wine or milk, I prefer plain water)

salt and pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

some also add 1tsp cinnamon.  I don't like cinnamon with meat

A good greek will add olive oil to the meatball mix but I think it is too much.  They are going to be fried in oil and there is oil in the tomato sauce

Put the mince, egg, s and p, cumin, garlic in a bowl.  Squeeze the water out of the bread and add that as well.  Get your hands in there and mix it all really well.  Knead it like bread dough and then shape it into long thin meatballs.

Roll each meatball in flour and fry on all sides.

While the meatballs are frying make the tomato sauce.

1 packet of tomato puree (passata)

a dash of red wine

1 crushed garlic clove

a good dash of olive oil (greek of course)

a wine glass of water

salt and a tsp of sugar

ground pepper

Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes and as the soudzoukakia (meatballs) come out of the frying pan place then into the pot of tomato sauce.  Simmer meatballs and sauce for around 10 minutes.  If the sauce gets too thick add a little more water.

Don't move them around too much, you don't them to break up.  Serve with mashed potatoes (potato puree in Greek)  rice, spaghetti or a pile of fried potatoes

Half a kilo of minced beef will make around 8 - 10 meatballs.  This recipe could feed 4 or 5 people easily.

Don't forget the greek salad, thick slices of fresh bread to soak up the sauce and clean the plate, a dish of feta cheese and a glass of wine.  That's the way they should be eaten