I’ve tried and cooked so many meatballs by now, I lost count! By far my favorite meatball recipe is my sister-in-law Julie’s. They come out deliciously tender, but keep their shape quite well for you to be able to bite in to them. Along with the homemade marinara sauce which they cook in, this is piece of heaven, I tell ya! In Russian we call them simply – Tefteli (“Тефтели”).
This recipe calls for the addition of rice, which is not a usual ingredient for meatballs. Call it a Russian twist, if you wish. But that’s what keeps these meatballs very delicate. You can substitute rice with either quinoa or bulgur.
Ingredients for meatballs:
- 1-1/2 lbs 20% ground beef
- 1 cup oil to fry
- 1 large egg
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 cup calrose rice (Baldo, Sushi Rice will work, too)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 ground black pepper
Ingredients for the marinara sauce:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 4 cups crushed or diced can tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp fresh basil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt+
- 4 cups water (add if need more)
Directions:
If you do not have time to prep the marinara sauce, you can use the store-bought alternative, too. But this sauce is so easy, it will not take you a lot of time to make it. Please give it a try.
Using a food processor or a chopper chop up the onions. Heat the pot where you will cook the marinara sauce and add the oil. Setting the heat at medium high add the onions to the pan. Saute until onions are transparent. Add chopped garlic and saute for 30 seconds. At this time turn the heat down to medium.
Add crushed tomatoes to the pan and occasionally stir making sure you squeeze the tomatoes with the tip of the spoon. I like how tomatoes turn out a little chunky at the end. If that’s not your preference I recommend passing the tomatoes either through a chopper or a food mill.
Chop up the basil and add it to the tomato concoction. Add the salt and make sure you taste the sauce for the right amount of it. You may want to add more salt according to your preferences. Let the sauce cook in medium low heat until you are ready to add the fried meatballs to it.
While the sauce is cooking let’s shape up the meatballs. Place the meat in a medium bowl. Put onions through a chopper and add them to the meat.
Wash the rice and add it to the meat, too. Further add salt, cumin and black pepper. Crack the egg on top of the pile and mix everything well by hand. Once the mixture is ready, shape golf sized balls out of it.
Heat a separate large skillet on high heat. Within about 5 minutes start adding the meatballs into oil. Fry on one side until brown (but not burnt). This will ensure that the meat and rice will keep it’s shape and will not turn into steamed meatballs later (that’s a separate recipe!) Turn the meatballs over to the other side when one side achieved the desired color.
As the meatballs get completely caramelized, start transferring them to the pot with the marinara sauce. If you have more than 1 batch of meatballs to fry, don’t worry, just turn the heat under marinara low until then. Please leave as much oil as possible behind. Discard the oil from the fried meatballs when it cools down. When you add all the meatballs into the tomato sauce, add water and increase the heat to medium high. When the sauce starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium low again. Half cover the lid of the pan and let the meatballs cook for about 30 minutes or until the rice is tender. This type of rice is prone to soaking up all the water and not leaving much moisture for the sauce. If there is a need for more water, don’t hesitate to add to add it.
Check for the readiness of the meatballs by cutting into one. See if the rice is ready. If the rice is cooked through, you can turn off the heat and prep the meatballs to be served. We serve these meatballs either with pasta, salad or fries. Any fries of your choice will work.
Viola! The meatballs are ready. Let me know how yours turned out!
Best Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS FOR MEATBALLS:
- 1-1/2 lbs 20% ground beef
- 1 cup oil to fry
- 1 large egg
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 cup calrose rice Baldo, Sushi Rice will work, too
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 ground black pepper
- NGREDIENTS FOR THE MARINARA SAUCE:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 4 cups crushed or diced can tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp fresh basil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt+
- 4 cups water add if need more
Instructions
- If you do not have time to prep the marinara sauce, you can use the store-bought alternative, too. But this sauce is so easy, it will not take you a lot of time to make it. Please give it a try.
- Using a food processor or a chopper chop up the onions. Heat the pot where you will cook the marinara sauce and add the oil. Setting the heat at medium high add the onions to the pan. Saute until onions are transparent. Add chopped garlic and saute for 30 seconds. At this time turn the heat down to medium.
- Add crushed tomatoes to the pan and occasionally stir making sure you squeeze the tomatoes with the tip of the spoon. I like how tomatoes turn out a little chunky at the end. If that’s not your preference I recommend passing the tomatoes either through a chopper or a food mill.
- Chop up the basil and add it to the tomato concoction. Add the salt and make sure you taste the sauce for the right amount of it. You may want to add more salt according to your preferences. Let the sauce cook in medium low heat until you are ready to add the fried meatballs to it.
- While the sauce is cooking let’s shape up the meatballs. Place the meat in a medium bowl. Put onions through a chopper and add them to the meat.
- Wash the rice and add it to the meat, too. Further add salt, cumin and black pepper. Crack the egg on top of the pile and mix everything well by hand. Once the mixture is ready, shape golf sized balls out of it.
- Heat a separate large skillet on high heat. Within about 5 minutes start adding the meatballs into oil. Fry on one side until brown (but not burnt). This will ensure that the meat and rice will keep it’s shape and will not turn into steamed meatballs later (that’s a separate recipe!) Turn the meatballs over to the other side when one side achieved the desired color.
- As the meatballs get completely caramelized, start transferring them to the pot with the marinara sauce. If you have more than 1 batch of meatballs to fry, don’t worry, just turn the heat under marinara low until then. Please leave as much oil as possible behind. Discard the oil from the fried meatballs when it cools down. When you add all the meatballs into the tomato sauce, add water and increase the heat to medium high. When the sauce starts boiling, turn the heat down to medium low again. Half cover the lid of the pan and let the meatballs cook for about 30 minutes or until the rice is tender. This type of rice is prone to soaking up all the water and not leaving much moisture for the sauce. If there is a need for more water, don’t hesitate to add to add it.
- Check for the readiness of the meatballs by cutting into one. See if the rice is ready. If the rice is cooked through, you can turn off the heat and prep the meatballs to be served. We serve these meatballs either with pasta, salad or fries. Any fries of your choice will work.
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