Soutzoukakia - Greek Meatball Bake #MeatMatters

If you regularly visit my blog you’ll know that I love Greek food so when fellow-blogger and long-time acquaintance and friend, Ruth from Rock N Roller Baby posted on Twitter about the BritMums and Simply Beef and Lamb #MeatMatters cookery challenge incorporating beef or lamb as an ingredient in a 30-minute meal, I knew instantly what I should share.

Soutzoukakia can be found all over Greece; and apparently the lightly spiced meatball bake was brought into Greece with the arrival of refugees from Asia Minor – or Smyrna, what is now known as Izmir. They are tender meatballs in a rich and intensely flavoured tomato sauce and they are delicious.

You can use pork, beef or lamb mince but I chose to use beef as it results in soft and tender, melt-in-the-mouth and really delicious meatballs. What’s more, beef is a rich source of protein and iron, so not only does it taste great, but it’s also good for you.

The soaking of a couple of slices of bread in red wine, seems a strange action, but please persevere, it really does make juicy and tender meatballs.

It’s not necessarily traditional to either bake or add the feta cheese to this dish, but it’s my twist and I think it is a great showcase of how versatile beef can be as an ingredient. Beef mince in particular is a great and adaptable ingredient – some other Greek dishes I make using beef mince include Moussaka, Pastitsio – The Greek Lasagne.

We had this with rice but if you had some fresh crusty bread, flatbreads or pitta these would be well appreciated to mop up the leftover juices which are so tasty. 

This is a great family meal to make with children too - it doesn't matter if the meatballs are oddly shaped, the children will love getting involved and be proud to serve up something they've made together too.

I made everything in the same skillet – first searing the meatballs on all sides and then removing them from the pan, as I think it adds a lovely flavour to the sauce and saves on washing up, but if you wanted to speed things up, prepare your sauce in a separate pan.

The below serves a family of with leftovers for lunch the next day and is ready in thirty minutes – if you don’t dawdle. 

Soutzoukakia - Greek Meatball Bake for BritMums #MeatMatters

Soutzoukakia - Greek Meatball Bake #MeatMatters

Here’s how:
The meatballs:

• 700g beef mince
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 2 slices bread (I use wholegrain) soaked in a couple of tablespoons of red wine
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• Lots of fresh black pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg, already beaten
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• Salt and black pepper

For the sauce:

• 1 carton passata
• 1 white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ glass red wine
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp honey
• Pinch salt
• Generous seasoning of black pepper
• 100g feta cheese

Begin by removing the crusts from the bread and popping into a shallow bowl with the couple of tablespoons of red wine. Ensure they both become immersed. At this point turn the oven onto the highest setting – about 250.

Now place the olive oil into a skillet or pan on a gentle heat and begin making the meatballs

Mince the garlic and add to a large bowl. Add the mince, the cinnamon, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano and egg. Now break up the winey bread and add to the mixture and bring it all together. Do not be tempted to knead it for too long as it will become overworked and you’ll end up with tough meatballs.

Once the mixture is simply combined, begin by rolling out 12-15 long meatballs – in a kofte shape and setting aside. 

The prepared meatballs ready for searing #MeatMatters

Put the flour into a small bowl or plate and season with salt and pepper. Roll each meatball into the flour and add to the skillet to brown all over. 

Frying the soutzoukakia meatballs #MeatMatters

Turn them after 30 seconds or so and ensure they are sealed on each side of the meatball, but cooked through. Another tip is to not overcook at this stage – they will finish cooking in the sauce, and if you overcook now, again, you’ll end up with tough and chewy meatballs instead of melt-in-the-mouth.

Whilst the meatballs are cooking, finely dice the white onion and mince the garlic for the sauce and get the other ingredients ready – measure out the wine, grab the cinnamon stick and get the honey out ready.

Once the meatballs are browned, remove them and place onto a plate.

Now throw the onions and garlic straight into the skillet – you shouldn’t need any extra olive oil at this stage – but gauge it by what is left in the pan and obviously if you are using a different pan add 1-2 tbsp.

Once the onions are soft turn the heat right up and pour over the wine. Cook for a minute or so and then add the passata, cinnamon stick, tomato puree and honey and season generously.

Allow the sauce to cook at a high temperature for five minutes. Then return the meatballs to the pan and gently turn them over a bit so they are fully immersed in the sauce. Cook for a further few minutes.

Now take the feta cheese and simply break off chunks or crumble over the top – you want a mixture of some bigger bits and some tiny crumbles.

Now place into the now piping-hot oven for a final blast. This will only take a few minutes for the feta to melt down.

Remove from the oven and carefully place onto a safe surface as the skillet will be very hot, and serve over rice, mashed potato or even with pasta. Enjoy! 

Family meal time Soutzoukakia #MeatMatters

This post is an entry for the #MeatMatters Challenge, sponsored by Simply Beef and Lamb. Learn more about the benefits of cooking and eating beef and lamb along with recipe ideas and inspiration here! https://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/