28 May 2009

Butcher´s Meatballs Versus Homemade

Both me and my daughter enjoy meatballs very much. Most times, I buy ground Portuguese beef or pork, season it and make the meatballs myself but since I started my new job I have less time to cook.
I like meatballs with Potatoe Purée but when I want to make a healthier dish, I serve them with a Mixed Potatoe Salad or boiled vegetables.
Early this month, I decided to try fresh pre-made meatballs that I bought in the butcher:



I always cook meatballs in homemade tomatoe sauce:

~ 3 tomatoes
~ 2/3 tablespoons of tomatoe pulp
~ 1 small onion
~ 2 cloves garlic
~ 1 bay leaf
~ fresh parsley
~ 1 tablespoon olive oil
~ 1/2 cup of white wine
~ 2 cups of water & salt

Chopp onion, garlic and tomatoes. Fry the onion with the garlic in olive oil until golden. Add tomatoes and bay leaf. Let tomatoes fry for 5 minutes mixing well. Add parsley, white wine, salt and water.
After adding water, the sauce is ready to cook the meatballs:



The meatballs were Ok but not as good as mine :)
I buy ground beef, pork or the mixture of both.
I season the meat with fine chopped:

~ onion
~ garlic
~ fresh parsley

I add whole egg (previously mixed), a couple spoons of flour (depending on the meat quantity), salt and nutmeg. I mix everything well and make the meatballs using my hands.
At last, before cooking, I sprinkle the meatballs with smashed bread toasts:





I´m not buying pre-made meatballs again, lol. I rather spend some time doing my own.
They´re much better!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice...I'll try to cook this dish...thanx

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