Soutzoukakia Smyrneika
The Asia-Minor refugee dish that put down roots in Macedonia — cumin-and-garlic-heavy oblong meatballs simmered in a sweet-spiced tomato sauce, named for the Smyrna Greeks who carried the recipe across the Aegean in 1922.
Ingredients
- ground beef500 g
- stale bread, crusts removed2 slices
- red wine60 ml
- garlic cloves, grated4
- ground cumin2 tsp
- egg1
- olive oil4 tbsp
- crushed tomatoes700 g
- sugar1 tsp
- cinnamon stick1
- bay leaf1
- salt and pepperto taste
Steps
Soak bread in red wine.
Soak the bread in the red wine for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the excess and crumble into a large bowl.
Mix and knead the meat mixture.
Add the beef, garlic, cumin, egg, salt, and pepper. Knead with one hand for a full two minutes until the mixture is sticky and uniform.
Shape meatballs by hand.
Wet your hands and shape into 12 oblong meatballs about the length of your thumb.
Brown the soutzoukakia in olive oil.
Heat olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high and brown the soutzoukakia on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove to a plate.
Simmer tomato sauce ingredients.
Tip the tomatoes, sugar, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf into the same pan and simmer 10 minutes until the sauce darkens.
Simmer meatballs in sauce.
Nestle the soutzoukakia back in, cover, and simmer gently for 20 minutes, turning once.
Remove spices and rest.
Fish out the cinnamon and bay leaf. Rest 5 minutes off the heat and serve over rice or with crusty bread.
Nutrition, per serving. 395 calories. Protein 30.5 grams, 30 percent. Carbs 13.8 grams, 14 percent. Fat 25.7 grams, 57 percent. Fiber 3.5 grams, sugar 6.2 grams, saturated fat 8.7 grams, sodium 410 milligrams. Estimated from ingredients.
