Izmir Meatball Recipe

Izmir Meatball Recipe: In Pursuit of Traditional Delight

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:

500 grams of medium-fat ground beef

1 onion (squeeze out the juice)

1 egg

1/2 bunch of parsley

1/3 cup of breadcrumbs

1.5 teaspoons of black pepper

1.5 teaspoons of cumin

1 teaspoon of salt

Vegetable oil for frying

For the Sauce:

Let’s remove the excess oil from the pan where we fried the potatoes and meatballs and make the sauce in the same pan.

3 tomatoes

1 teaspoon of tomato paste

Red pepper flakes

Salt

For the Topping:

7-8 cherry tomatoes

4 potatoes

4 green peppers

Instructions:

Finely chop the onion in a food processor and squeeze out the juice, using only the pulp.

Combine breadcrumbs, onion pulp, egg, finely chopped parsley, spices, and ground beef in a bowl. Knead the mixture thoroughly.

Shape the mixture into small, elongated meatballs or walnut-sized balls, and arrange them on a plate to rest. You can shape them as you prefer.

Slice the potatoes after peeling them (you can choose the shape you like).

Heat vegetable oil and fry the potatoes first, then the meatballs until they turn golden brown.

You can also fry the cherry tomatoes if you like.

Place the potatoes, meatballs, and cherry tomatoes on an ovenproof dish.

Remove excess oil from the pan used for frying potatoes and meatballs, and prepare the sauce in the same pan.

Start by sautéing the tomato paste.

Add the grated 3 tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.

After adding red pepper flakes and salt, remove from heat. Add 1.5 cups of hot water to the sauce (you can skip adding salt if the tomato paste is salty).

Pour the prepared sauce over the potatoes and meatballs.

Place 8-10 cherry tomatoes and green peppers on the side.

Occasionally, open the oven and drizzle some of the sauce over the meatballs and potatoes.

Enjoy your meal!

The Unique Taste of Izmir Meatball: