- Difficulty
- moderate
- Dinner
- March 15, 2016
Meatballs With Spicy Tomato Sauce Recipe.
Hold the spaghetti, but keep the meatballs coming! These quick little bundles of flavor have a spicy kick from the red pepper flakes and lemon zest in the tomato sauce: if you want it even hotter, you can always add more pepper flakes or a dash of fresh chili powder. Don’t forget the other spices, either: cinnamon, cumin, ginger, and garlic give you a rich background flavor without the typical blend of basil and oregano.
PrintMeatballs With Spicy Tomato Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 egg;
- 1 lb. ground beef;
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste;
- 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped;
- 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced;
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin;
- 1 clove garlic, minced;
- A pinch of ground cinnamon;
- 1/3 cup almond meal;
- 4 tbsp. coconut oil;
- 4 tbsp. fresh parsley leaves, chopped;
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste;
Spicy Tomato Sauce Ingredients
- 1/2 small onion, diced;
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped;
- Zest from 1 lemon;
- 3/4 cup chicken stock;
- 2 cups diced tomatoes;
- 1 tsp. dried red pepper flakes;
- A pinch of ground cinnamon;
- 2 tbsp. clarified butter;
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the egg and tomato paste and mix until smooth.
- Add the cilantro, ginger, cumin, garlic, and cinnamon and combine until well blended.
- Stir in the ground beef and almond meal, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Roll the mixture with your hands to make small meatballs, about 1-inch in diameter.
- In a large skillet, heat 3 tbsp. of coconut oil over a medium heat. Brown the meatballs until golden on all sides and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, heat the clarified butter over a medium heat and saut? the onion and garlic until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add the lemon zest and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken stock, diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and cinnamon, and let simmer for about 7 minutes.
- Season the sauce with sea salt and black pepper to taste.
- Transfer the meatballs to the pan with the sauce and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.
