Once in awhile, I like to make this dish, as it is very quick and easy to prepare. It normally takes an hour to complete the entire preparation and cooking. It is a healthy dish as it contains a generous dose of lycopene, which comes from the tomato sauce. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and the beef is a good source of protein and iron.
Ingredients:
500 g of ground beef
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
½ cup of minced large onion
½ cup of diced potatoes (boiled to soften)
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
½ cup of tomato paste or ketchup
½ cup of diced fresh tomatoes
3 cups of pasta sauce (I like to use spaghetti sauce too)
1 cup of chicken stock or plain water
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Cooking oil for frying
Chopped parsley for garnishing (optional)
Preparation:
1. Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry the garlic and onions until brown and soften. You may use garlic powder instead to get the same taste.
2. Mix the fried garlic and onion into the ground beef. Add the boiled diced potatoes, cornstarch, oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Mix everything together and refrigerate for about half an hour.
4. Wet your hands and start to shape the meatballs according to your desired size.
5. Heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a non-stick frying pan and brown the meatballs over medium heat.
6. In a saucepan, mix together the pasta or spaghetti sauce, the tomato paste and the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
7. After browning, drop the meatballs into the sauce above. Simmer the meatballs until they are cooked through.
8. Add the diced tomatoes and season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar.
9. For garnishing, you can add the chopped parsley.
Serve the meatballs with rice, spaghetti or pita bread. You can also add in diced carrots, celery, potatoes, green peas, pumpkins and etc. to make it a wholesome dish.