Oven Baked Meatballs With Gravy

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Full recipe

One of the dishes that I remember from my childhood, with which the memories of my grandmother and mother are connected, is meatballs. Previously, they were cooked all the time, with any side dish: mashed potatoes, rice, buckwheat, pasta. They were served in kindergarten, school, in all canteens and cafes.

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But let’s leave nostalgia and move on to the most important thing – the recipe of this meat dish. Today I will show you how to make meatballs, so that they would be as tasty as “at my mother’s”, but with the addition of Italian charm. For starters, we define with minced meat. Pork, beef or minced beef, the so-called assortment, will do.

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If desired, you can use chicken, but then meatballs will not have such a pronounced meat taste. I found in the store an excellent minced meat assortment, so I will cook with it. If you have the opportunity and time, cook the minced meat yourself. The main thing is that it is scrolled, not chopped. Add salt, pepper and finely chopped onions to the minced meat. Also rash the herbs: basil and oregano. It is they who will give the meatballs a chic aroma in the future.

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If you cook the minced meat yourself, it will be easier to scroll the onions with the meat. We leave the meat for 20-30 minutes, at this time starting to prepare the gravy. I will bake meatballs in the tomato sauce, so let’s start to cook it. Cut onions and carrots. I cut the onions large enough and the carrots medium.

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Pour some oil into a pan or saucepan and start to fry vegetables on a small fire. Stirring regularly, continue frying for 10 minutes. During this time, onions are caramelized and bitterness will disappear from it.

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Now it’s time to add tomato paste. If there is no paste, add homemade tomato juice, or take the tomatoes in their own juice and finely chop them. As a last resort, use ketchup, but it can give a strong sweetness. Also add 1 tsp. of salt and finely sliced garlic.

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Be sure to give the tomato paste to fry for about 5 minutes so that the “earthy” flavor disappears from it. Then pour 500 ml of water to the sauce, stir well and give a little boil for about 5 minutes.

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While the sauce is being prepared, we start making meatballs. Adjust the size of one meatballs yourself. I got 9 pieces with one kilogram of minced meat. We put meatballs in the form in which we will bake them.

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Use any dishes that are designed for oven and have high sides. For example, a tray, pot or frying pan. Pour our gravy on top of the meatballs. The liquid should completely cover our meatballs. If a little is missing, add some ordinary water.

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At the top we cover the form with a lid. If the lid is missing, cover the top of the dishes with foil. We bake meatballs in the oven, at 180°, for 60 minutes.

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After an hour of languishing in the oven, we get delicious meatballs in tomato sauce, which are combined with a huge number of garnishes. The taste of the meat is very rich, subtly emphasized by the notes of herbs.

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Many people prefer to add additional ingredients to the meat, but I cook only without rice, bread, eggs and other products that in one way or another shade the meat flavor.

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Bon appetit! Don’t starve 😋