Romanian meatballs in tomato sauce

Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 500 g ground pork and beef
• 250 g large potato
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 egg
• 15 g parsley
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
• 3 tablespoons of oil

For the sauce

• 300 g onion
• 400 g tomatoes
• 300 ml homemade tomato purée or 150 ml tomato passata and 150 ml water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon of peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of hot paprika optional
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar

Preparation

1. Chop the parsley and crush the garlic. Peel the potato, finely grate it and squeeze it well. 2. In a bowl, mix the meat, potato, garlic, egg, parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper and the sweet paprika. Shape into small meatballs. 3. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs, turning them, for 12 minutes, until browned and cooked through. Transfer them to a plate and keep the pan with the fat left in it. 4. Chop the onion and cook it in the same pan for 5 minutes, until softened. Dice the tomatoes, add them, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes. 5. Add the homemade tomato purée to the pan. If using tomato passata, add 150 ml passata and 150 ml water instead. Add the bay leaves, dried basil, peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and, if you like, the hot paprika. Simmer the sauce over low heat for 15 minutes. 6. Gradually add the sugar and vinegar, tasting the sauce after each addition. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer covered over very low heat for 10 minutes. If the sauce is still runny, cook it uncovered for another 5 minutes, until thickened.