I cannot remember hearing anyone say they don’t like meatballs. In fact, I think meatballs are some of the most comforting and beloved foods there are! Every culture has their version and I can’t think of any I dislike. I very much crave Mexican style Albóndigas Enchipotladas, and just because they’re Mexican they would be my number one choice, but these meatballs made in the Turkish style are a pretty close second.
This recipe came about in a peculiar way. I was working on a recipe for stuffed eggplants, also Turkish style, and the sauce for that recipe was so outrageously good that I had to use it for something else, so then these meatballs were born. While the eggplant recipe is not ready (I promise to post it as soon as I’m happy with it), this meatballs and sauce recipe deserves to be shared, so you can enjoy it too!
The ingredients that make this sauce Turkish are the red pepper paste, the Aleppo pepper and the method. It is common in Turkish sauces to have these ingredients and they give the sauce a particular depth of flavour that is hard to replicate without them. If these ingredients are hard to find for you, replace the red pepper paste with the same amount of tomato paste, and for the Aleppo you can use chili flakes. In the meatballs, it is important to use fresh breadcrumbs, so any bread you have on hand will work better than dried breadcrumbs.
I made these meatballs pretty small, about 1”, just because I like them that way, but if you have little time or patience, you can make them as big as you want them. Once shaped, you can freeze them raw and then next time you make some sauce they would be ready, or as I have done many times, freeze them in the sauce, then the next meal is pretty easy and quick. To make my life easier, I like to bake the meatballs first, then finish them in the sauce.
Meatballs in a Turkish Style Sauce
For the Sauce:
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion
¾ cup diced green bell pepper
1 long red hot chili pepper, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp Turkish hot red pepper paste
1 tsp mild Aleppo pepper
2 ½ cups Marinara sauce or passata
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
4 Tbsp chopped parsley
Parsley leaves for garnish
For the Meatballs:
3 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup stale bread
1 kg ground beef or a mixture of beef and lamb
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp mild Aleppo pepper
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
To make the sauce, in large saucepan, heat 3 Tbsp olive oil and cook onion, green and hot pepper until soft, 5-7 minutes.
Add garlic, tomato paste, Turkish hot red pepper paste and Aleppo pepper and cook for 3 minutes.
Add tomato sauce and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped parsley.
To make the meatballs, use a food processor and turn it on. Drop in the whole garlic cloves and once they are minced, open it and add onion. Chop it finely and then add bread and chop finely.
Add ground beef, cumin, Aleppo pepper, salt and black pepper and using the pulse button, pulse only until mixture is combined, making sure it does not become too smooth.
Remove from food processor and shape into 1” meatballs.
Place meatballs on sheet pan and bake at 375°F for 12-13 minutes, then remove from the oven and add them to the sauce. Finish cooking in the sauce for 10-15 minutes.
Serve, garnished with parsley leaves.
Makes about 70 meatballs, serves 8-10.