soutzoukakia recipe

Growing up Greek, we had a lot of great foods that a small child pretty much couldn't pronounce let alone spell. One of my all time favorites (aside from dolmades aka grape leaves) was what I called Greek meatballs. Face it, when you're five years old and an American mutt with a percentage (about 25) of Greek blood, you're not belting out words like 'soutzoukakia' like a champ on a regular basis.

But boy, oh boy, do I adore this recipe. So, I am sharing it today.

Ingredients:
1 kg/2 lb ground beef
2 eggs
1 sliced onion
1 liter/1 quart of tomato paste
Some olive oil
Salt
pepper
oregano
cumin
some flour
2 spoons of sugar

You'll notice there isn't a lot of exact measurements. Yeah, about that, a lot of folks don't do salt or pepper and some aren't too keen on cumin - so it's to taste, same with oregano. I never realized a person could have a dislike of oregano until I got married. The male isn't too fond of the nicely scented green herb, it gives him heartburn if I don't pay attention. The flour is 'use until stiff' so if you buy/use fatty meat you'll use more flour than folks who cook with lean meat or venison. So, no amounts given.

Mix the meat with the eggs (raw folks, seriously this should go without saying but I didn't and a friend hardboiled them, it was the weirdest fiasco - ever), and add the chopped onion, the cumin, salt and pepper. Form into elongated balls and turn inside a bowl with the flour until firm. Fry the floured meatballs in the oil at high heat.
           
When cooked add the tomato paste and sugar, and let cook for another 10-15 minutes at medium heat. Serve with either rice or fries.

Now, you'll notice the 'some' on the oil, this is not an invitation to a deep fry either. This is a lightly coat the pan and fry the meatballs, just a bit more than sauté but not heart-attack worthy grease immersion.

Good luck and enjoy!