Meatballs in tomato sauce (Albóndigas en salsa de tomate)

When a few years ago I decided to start a blog, not for a moment did I think that I would get so much involved in cooking, photographing and writing the posts. From the begging, I decided that I would never force myself to do it. It so happened that during the last three months I took a break from blogging and instead of writing posts and photographing what I cooked, I preferred to cook just for my own pleasure; not only Spanish dishes, but especially those Polish ones, from my ''old'' years. Thus, my summer menu was full of cold soups with beet, potato dumplings (kopytka), stuffed dumplings (pierogi), cauliflower with butter and bread crumbs and beef roulades. Fortunately, after the storm comes the sun, and now, day by day, I'm more keen on looking for new Spanish recipes and of course on testing them. Today's recipe was tried out by me in late summer, when the stalls sagged under the weight of juicy, ripe and incredibly red tomatoes. Meatballs in tomato sauce is one of the classics of Spanish cuisine. You will meet them in tapas bars and also in restaurants serving traditional Spanish dishes.

Ingredients (serves 4):

the meatballs:
400 g ground (minced) beef or beef and pork
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 egg
1 garlic clove (very finely chopped)
all-purpose flour (for coating the meatballs)
oil for frying
salt and pepper

the sauce:
1 kg ripe tomatoes or 2 cans diced tomatoes
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of olive oil
pinch of chili flakes (optional)
salt and pepper

Method:

Put the meat, bread crumbs, lightly beaten egg and garlic into a bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into small balls and coat them lightly in the flour. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook until golden brown all over.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in another frying pan. Add chopped onion and garlic. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and a little bit of chili flakes. Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer the meatballs to a pan, arranging them in a single layer and pour the sauce over the meat. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, then serve sprinkled with chopped parsley or chives.

Enjoy !!!