Meatballs in sauce

How to make meatballs in sauce .

This recipe has always reminded me of my mother’s house. One of those foods that succeed when you are little and that you ask your mother for yes and day too.

It is still one of those meat recipes that contains the ingredients of a good meat stew . In which we add balls of meat, fish or vegetables, the famous meatballs.

It is essential to accompany this dish with a good piece of bread to dip in the sauce, a glass of red wine (now that I’m not that young) and good company, for me, a full-blown plan, everything else is left over.

This  recipe for meatballs in casserole or in sauce is the one that my mother taught me and that it is as is, without variations, this recipe is perfect as is.

So today we will cook some meatballs of minced meat in a sauce of vegetables and white wine.

In some places also called meatballs to the planter , for the amount of vegetables and vegetables they carry.

Its flavor is intense, a mixture of all the memories of how my mother made meatballs and how the whole family shared the casserole.

It is also always a good entertainment that requires some skill but eating them is more fun and, above all, tastier.

Within the meatball recipes there are 2 types that almost everyone has tried, the meatballs with tomato and these meatballs in sauce .

For these meatballs I always like to mix 50% meat, pork and beef (veal). They would also be amazing with chicken meatballs and or just pork.

I leave you with this homemade food without much complication, a way of eating meat and vegetables in a healthy and very good way, it is a unique dish that is luxurious.

The little ones and not so little ones will love it, and if you do not like these vegetables you can change them for the ones of your choice, I hope you cheer up with them.

How to prepare meatballs in sauce or meatballs to the planter

1. We prepare the sauce. We wash and chop the onion in very small cubes.
2. We laminate the garlic clove in a low saucepan. Add a stream of virgin olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic.
3. Wash and cut the carrots and the red pepper. When the onion has cooked, add the rest of the ingredients and sauté. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add a small tablespoon of flour to the casserole and toast the flour for one minute, stirring well.
5. We let the ingredients release all the liquid for about 5 minutes. When it has reduced we pour the white wine and let them cook over very low heat. This process will take approximately 15 minutes, so the carrot will be in its place with the rest of the vegetables.
6. While the vegetable is being prepared we prepare the mixture of the meatballs. We are going to make the meat balls, that all come out more or less the same.
7. Season with minced meat, both beef and pork in a large bowl.
8. We break the 2 eggs and add them together with the nutmeg, the fresh parsley (or if we do not have dry), the bread slices without the crust that we have previously soaked in milk for a few minutes. We let the mixture sit.
9. Let’s cook the onion and garlic for a few minutes. In this way we will make the onion soften and that our meatballs will have a homogeneous texture.
10. We will also slightly reduce the strength of the garlic and onion, giving more smoothness to the mixture of the meatballs.

Final preparation of the meatballs in sauce

1. Chop the 2 cloves of garlic very minced (without the inner sprout or trunk so that it does not repeat) and the onion into small pieces.
2. We put water to heat and when it boils add the onion and garlic. Let cook for 2 minutes
3. Drain and cool with cold water, before adding to the previous mixture. As soon as we see that it is well temperature we mix with the meat.
4. We remove everything well with the hands until the ingredients are mixed. Cover with transparent film and let it rest for an hour in the fridge.
5. After the resting time we take the meat out of the fridge. This will be the base of our future meatballs. Without fear we begin to work the dough making small (or large, that to taste) balls that we will then pass through flour.
6. For this, we put flour on a plate. With a spoon, you help yourself to catch some minced meat that you will roll with your hands. Take a first pass, leaving the first meatball round.
7. You go through the flour on the plate, the bullets a little more and leave it on another clean plate, and so on.

Final presentation and recommendations of the meatballs

1. We leave them on a plate waiting for the pan. We shake them a little to remove the excess flour.
2. Fry in very hot extra virgin olive oil, about three minutes is enough. We reserve.
3. Add the meatballs to the casserole, the saffron and the bay leaf. When the wine has reduced a little, add the hot chicken broth and the peas, leave on the fire for 10 minutes. If we see that the sauce is too thick, rectify with water (always hot so as not to cut the cooking). When the sauce is ready we try salt. We rectify if necessary.
4. Let them rest for about 5 minutes while we fry the potatoes with the type of cut that you like the most. We serve them warm as is, a great unique dish.
5. If you do not want to accompany them with potatoes, a good mashed potato  is an option. Another alternative is to make white rice as a garnish, white rice is perfect to mix with the meatball sauce. Without realizing it, you have prepared a great meal to enjoy!

You can see all the step by step photos of this meatball recipe in this album. Do not lose detail and they will be perfect.

Tips for perfect meatballs in sauce

There are hundreds of preparations, each with its tricks. The final results are similar to those of the potato tortillas or the croquettes of each house , no two are the same. Here are some tips for even improving this recipe.

• In the process of making the meat base. If you see that you have not drained the bread that you have soaked in milk and that the mixture does not fit well, it is because there is plenty of moisture. You can add a little breadcrumb to make it compact, united but juicy. It should never be dry, but instead of meat balls you will have stones.
• To make the meatballs softer and juicier, add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the meat mixture.
• When you prepare the meatballs you should not stack them on top of each other, each one will have its space. Otherwise, they will end up hitting each other and lose their shape and charm.
• One way to keep meat from sticking to your hands is to wet them so they are wet (they don’t have to be dripping, just wet).
• In this garden meatball recipe you can substitute the peas for a package of frozen stew.
• When spicing the meat, you can add garlic powder, salt and parsley. Even your favorite spices, thyme, sage, basil, oregano … whatever you like best at home.
• Be very careful when you toast the saffron because in a second (depending on the heat of the frying pan) it burns and is left for garbage. If you have a better time throwing it away and if you don’t have more saffron you can use a little dye.
• As I do with the croquettes, I always prepare extra meatballs. A lot of quantity to be able to freeze later. So any other day that I am in a hurry I have a great tuper prepared for food and I don’t care.