Soutzoukakia from Asia Minor

Soutzoukakia (Asian Minor meatballs)

Ingredients

• 1 kg of minced beef (can be made with ½ beef and ½ lamb or pork)
• 4 thick slices of crustless stale bread
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 glass of Mavrodafni wine
• 1 egg
• 2 grated onions
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• Salt
• Pepper
• a bunch of chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• Vegetable oil for frying
• For the sauce
• 1 kilo of tomatoes grated
• 1/2 cup of concentrated tomato juice
• 1/4cup of water
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• Salt
• pepper

Directions

1. Put the minced meat in a bowl and soak the bread in a glass of Mavrodafni wine (sweet red wine).
2. Then, after the bread has soaked, squeeze it well to remove excess wine and add it to the minced meat. Chop and add the parsley to the mixture add all the spices (cumin,salt, pepper) the grated garlic, the grated onions and the olive oil. Knead well and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so all the ingredients come together. Remove make soutzoukakia and cover them with flour. Put a pan on medium heat add vegetable oil and fry your soutzoukakia.
3. Tip: you can also bake them or put them in an air fryer.
5. Tomatoe sauce
6. In a deep pot, pour the oil and the grated tomatoe, add the rest of the ingredients and boil for 10 minutes or until thick.
7. Stir constantly until it becomes a sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes.
8. We then add our soutzoukakiato our sauce simmer for 5 minutes, and serve with potatoes, rice, or spaghetti, orzo or even pita bread! We can add some greek strained yogurt to our plate.