By Cynthia Sadurni
This is a dish that shines in its simplicity. The best part is you don’t have to fry or brown the meatballs; they go straight into the broth to cook. It’s whole, hearty, and delicious any time of year, but particularly so when tomatoes are in season. This recipe is my mother Ana’s own, and it is one of my personal favorites. I prepare it very often, for my family, friends, and guests as well. It is a good option for a quick and nutritious dinner any day of the week.
Ingredients
For the broth
• 1 lb fresh tomatoes, either Roma, Beefsteak, or Heirloom (this last option may color the broth in an unusual way if using multicolored tomatoes)
• ¼ white onion
• 1 large clove of garlic (peeled)
• Dash of pepper
• ½ tbsp salt (more to taste)
• 1 tbsp water if needed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 whole, dried chipotle (I prefer to use organic), optional
For the meatballs
• 1 lb of good ground beef (I use 90% lean; can also be substituted with ground turkey, chicken, or pork)
• 1 green onion (white and light green parts), finely chopped
• 1 raw egg
• ¼ tsp cumin
• ⅛ tsp fresh mint (1 large leaf), finely minced
• 1 hard-boiled egg, coarsely chopped
•½ tbsp salt (more to taste)
• Pepper
Directions
Cube the tomatoes and the onion into large chunks, then place in a blender along with the garlic clove, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. If needed, you may add a tbsp of room temperature water so that it blends easily. Normally, this last step is not required if the tomatoes are fresh and juicy. Taste to rectify amount of salt. Add more if desired.
In medium-size pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil. Once it begins to
shimmer, drop the chipotle and stir until it puffs up. If it doesn’t, its a sign that the chili was ruptured and the seasoned oil could be pretty spicy. This is an optional step. Even though it adds a rich, earthy and complex flavor to the broth, you can omit it and still have a delicious result. Remove the chipotle and reserve.
Carefully, add the tomato mixture into the seasoned oil. This step “shocks” the sauce,
releasing more flavor. However, it will bubble quite intensely at first, and may jump a bit out of the pot. After a few minutes, you will notice the sauce turn into a richer, darker color. Turn the fire off, but leave the pot on the stove. Do not cover, as any condensation will water down the sauce.
In the same blender (it is important to leave any left over sauce or tomato pieces, as this will add complexity to the seasoning) add the egg, green onion, mint, cumin, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, but not too long as this could begin to cook the egg.
In a bowl, place your ground meat and add the mixture from the blender. Mix thoroughly. You can use a fork, but I prefer to do it with my hands, as it yields a more thorough distribution of flavor.
Form the each meatball by taking about 2 tbsp of the mix and rolling them in your hands. You can really make them any size you want. It is no problem if they are uneven in size. Holding the mix in one hand, make an indentation with your index finger and add a piece of hard-boiled egg. (If you prefer, it is totally fine to just use just the whites) Close the meatball by pinching, and then hand-roll once more to smooth it out. Carefully add to the prepared sauce in the pot.
Once you have all the meatballs in, turn the heat back on to medium-high. Once it simmers, lower the temperature to medium low and cover. Be mindful to keep it at a low simmer and check regularly. It is okay if the sauce doesn’t completely cover the meatballs, simply flip them over halfway through cooking. If you would like extra spiciness, add the reserved chipotle now.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes, then uncover and continue to simmer gently until broth thickens a bit. You can leave the sauce as thin or thick as you want simply by adding water in small amounts.
Traditionally, my mom always served these over white rice, but brown is also delicious!
I hope that you will enjoy this taste of my childhood, and that it will bring to your table the same warmth that it brought to me whenever my Mamma served this dish!
