Cumin and Garlic Meatballs in Tomato and Wine Sauce

The winner for 6/10 was the Greek/Cretan–inspired Meatballs. Heck, it's all Greek to me! Enjoy,

- Chez





Meatballs

• 2 lbs. ground sirloin
• 10-12 ounces white bread, soaked in 1 1/2 cups of white wine
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated or crushed
• 1 heaped tsp. of ground cumin
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium egg
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 375F.

Squeeze the bread dry (reserve wine), place in a bowl with all the other ingredients and mix together with your hands. Leave the mixture for half an hour in the fridge then shape into 2-inch balls (an ice cream scoop works very well for this). Put into a standard mini-muffin tin (24-slot).

Bake for 45 minutes or until meatballs are cooked and a nice crust develops on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Place in shallow baking dish.

Tomato and Wine Sauce

• 1 tsp. of ground cumin
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• the reserved wine from above
• 3/4 cup sweet vermouth
• 14.5 oz. can diced tomato

Add all ingredients into food processor and pulse until smooth. Add 1/4 cup water and mix well.

Remove from food processor and place in medium sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Reduce by half.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Pour sauce over the meatballs and bake for 20 minutes. Serve topped with ribbons of fresh basil.