The flour does two jobs here: it closes the outside of the meatball so it does not disintegrate, and it dissolves into the liquid and thickens the sauce. Skip the flouring and you get broken meatballs in a watery sauce.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
For the sauce
Method
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Knead the mixture
Knead the mince, grated onion, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper for 8 minutes.
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Roll the meatballs
Roll them to the size of hazelnuts, turn them in flour and shake off the excess.
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Build the sauce
Fry the onion in butter for 5 minutes, add the tomato paste, tomato and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
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Add the water
Pour in the hot water and bring to the boil.
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Add the meatballs
Drop the meatballs into the boiling sauce one by one. Do not stir for the first 5 minutes.
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Simmer
Cook gently for 20 minutes, adding the salt in the last 5 minutes.
Tips
- Do not stir for the first five minutes after the meatballs go into the sauce; stirred before their surfaces set, they break up.
- Remember to shake off the excess flour or the sauce goes lumpy.
- Rice or pasta alongside is essential; the sauce is too much on its own.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.