Soutzoukakia

By The Mediterranean Dish · 75 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Soak the toasted bread in the milk until soft, then squeeze out all the liquid and discard any leftover milk.
2. Put the bread in a large bowl with the beef, chopped onion, minced garlic, eggs, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper. Knead until well combined, then cover and refrigerate.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
4. Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan or large skillet over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Cook the chopped onion for about 3 minutes, add the garlic and cook 1 more minute, stirring often.
5. Add the red wine and simmer until reduced by about half. Add the tomato sauce, bay leaf, cumin, cinnamon, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Lightly oil the bottom of a large baking dish with olive oil.
7. Wet your hands and shape portions of about 2½ tablespoons of the meat mixture into football-shaped meatballs; you should get 15 to 16. Arrange them in the baking dish and pour the sauce over them, after removing the bay leaf.
8. Bake on the middle rack for 40 to 45 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Check partway through that the sauce is not drying out, and if needed add a little water to the bottom of the dish.
9. Take out of the oven, drizzle with a little more olive oil, and garnish with parsley.

Summarized from The Mediterranean Dish's video. Watch it for the details.