Description
Learn how to cook the best meatballs on the stove top in delicious sauce. This gluten-free Spanish meatballs recipe will become your new favourite! It is a family recipe (gluten-free adapted), that has gone through generations, and it's always a favourite within the family and guests. Ideal to make a big batch and freeze portions to enjoy on a busy weeknight. Dairy-free.
Ingredients
Meatball mixture
2-3 garlic cloves cut in medium chunks
Handful of fresh parsley
2 slices of soft GF bread (crust removed)
1/4 cup of plant-based milk (I use sugar-free almond)
1 kg of grass-fed lean ground beef
2 organic eggs
1/4 brown onion grated (excess liquid removed)
1 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
Chickpea flour
Tomato sauce
6 tbsp of tomato passata or tomato puree
2 big / 3 medium brown onion diced
1/3 cup of white wine
400ml of chicken stock
2 bay leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Start by making the meatball mixture. Cut the bread in chunks with the hands, and soak it in the milk. Smash using a fork or pestle. Crush the garlic with the parsley in a mortar and pestle, until they’re well crushed. Add the soaked bread, a tiny bit of wine (approx. 1 tbsp) to the mortar, and combine all the ingredients.
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In a large mixing bowl, add the meat with the rest of the ingredients. Combine well with your hands, until all the ingredients have blended.
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Roll the meatballs. Add a generous amount of chickpea flour to a plate. Grab a bit of the meat with a tablespoon, and form the meatballs with your fingers (I like the meatballs quite small, but this is a personal preference). Roll over the chickpea flour, and transfer to a tray or plate. You might want to put parchment paper or spread a bit of extra flour to avoid the meatballs sticking to the plate/tray.
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Repeat this process until you’ve used all the meat. You should end up with approximately 60 small / 40 medium meatballs.
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Fry the meatballs. Pour olive oil to a large pot and bring it to boil. The olive oil should be approx. 1-2 fingers high, to cover half the height of the meatballs. Fry the raw meatballs on medium-high heat in small batches, so there is enough space around. Cook for approx. 1 minute on each side, until they’re nicely golden brown. Set aside on a plate.
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Prepare the onion-tomato sauce. Clean the oil with a thin strainer. Add the onion to the oil with a pinch of salt, and cook on medium-low for approx. 15 minutes until it becomes soft. Pour the tomato, wine and bay leaves, stir to combine, and cook for another 5 minutes. Pour the stock little by little, stirring to combine. Increase to medium-high heat, bring it to boil, and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
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Using a skimmer, grab all the onion from the sauce, and transfer it to a food mill (see notes below). Place the food mill over the pot, and mash the onion. The sauce will look quite liquid at the beginning, but it will thicken later.
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Cook to meatballs on the sauce. Add the meatballs to the sauce, and once it starts boiling cook for another 5-8 minutes.
Notes
If you don't have a food mill, you can use a hand blender instead. Don't over blend the sauce though.
You can bake the meatballs instead of frying them. Add parchment paper to a baking sheet. Add the uncooked meatballs and add a little olive oil. Bake in the oven at 200 degree celsius for approx 20 minutes.
You can use other meat (instead of beef) - ground pork, ground turkey or ground chicken would work well. You can also use a combination of them. For example 1/2 lean ground beef + 1/2 ground pork.
Store the leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can freeze portions in airtight containers for up to 3 months. They're ideal to have a delicious meal ready on a busy weeknight!
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