Dinner · 40 min · greek

Soutzoukakia (Cumin Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

Ground beef does the heavy lifting here, with day-old bread rounding it out. A Greek dinner that takes 40 minutes, start to finish.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb Ground beef
• 3 slices Day-old bread
• 1/4 cup Dry red wine
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 tsp Ground cumin
• 2 Eggs
• 28 oz Canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 Yellow onion
• 1/3 cup Olive oil
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 tsp Salt

Steps

1. Soak, squeeze, and crumble the bread; mix with the beef, wine, crushed garlic, cumin, eggs, and salt. The wine and cumin are the Smyrna soul of this dish — do not skimp on either. Chill 20 minutes.
2. Roll into 12 fat finger-shaped ovals; the elongated shape is traditional and gives more browned surface than balls.
3. Brown them hard on all sides in the olive oil, then lift out — they finish in the sauce, and the fond left behind becomes the sauce’s backbone.
4. Soften the onion in the same pot, add the tomatoes and sugar, and simmer 10 minutes. Return the soutzoukakia, cover, and simmer 20 minutes until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are cooked through. Serve over rice or with bread; the sauce is the point as much as the meat.
5. They reheat beautifully — the sauce thickens overnight and the cumin deepens, making day-two soutzoukakia arguably better than day one.

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