In Greek: κεφτεδάκια με πιπεριές, say: kef-teh-THAHK-yah meh pee-peh-ree-YES
The meatballs in this recipe for Meatballs in Sauce with Peppers aren’t just made with ground beef (hamburger meat)… they include eggplant! A fabulous tomato sauce with red and green peppers adds to the delightful taste combination. Serve with rice.
Meatballs in Sauce with Peppers – Keftethakia me Piperies
The recipe serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
- FOR THE MEATBALLS
- 2 1/4 (1 kg) pounds of ground beef
- 1 medium onion, grated
- 1 medium eggplant (round purple), grated
- 8 ounces (250 gr) of bread, moistened and squeezed to remove excess moisture
- 1 teaspoon of fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons of ouzo
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- .
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 green bell peppers, seeded, thinly sliced
- 3 red bell peppers, seeded, thinly sliced
- 5 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 14oz (400 gr) can of chopped roma tomatoes
- a pinch of paprika
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup of water
- .
- olive oil for frying meatballs
- water for meatball mixture (optional)
Preparation:
Make the Meatballs:
In a bowl, knead together ground beef, grated onion, grated eggplant, bread (torn apart into small pieces), mint, egg, ouzo, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make the meatball mixture. Adding a little water will help make the meatballs lighter, but it’s optional.
Form into round meatballs and fry in oil until nicely browned and crisp all around.
Meatball Tips: Do not over-knead the meatball mixture or they will become too dense. The oil for frying should come to about the middle of the meatballs so they only need to be turned once.
Make the Sauce
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the peppers and onion until the peppers wilt. Add tomatoes, paprika, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer (slow boil) for 6 minutes.
Add Meatballs to Sauce
Add the meatballs to the sauce and when slow boil resumes, cook for about 15 minutes.
Meatballs in Sauce with Peppers is usually served with rice, but also works well with noodles or mashed potatoes.
Yield: serves 6-8
