My mother-in-law, Ida Siegel, had a wonderful repertoire of delicious food. The clearest chicken soup on the planet. Silky pepper steak. Chopped liver made with chicken fat and paired with hand grated black radish, mixed with Kosher salt, pepper and a slick of chicken fat. Her meatballs and sauce recipe came from her friend, Jennie D’Amato, and it was a Siegel family favorite. She made this dish once a year, always on Yossi’s birthday.
My mother-in-law died before Talia was born; Alana and Sam were very small and they have no memory of her delicious food. So, imagine my delight when I unearthed her recipe for this dish.
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Three 28-ounce cans Italian peeled plum tomatoes, mashed
Three 6-ounce cans tomato paste
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
3 pounds ground beef
2 – 3 extra-large eggs
6 tablespoons matzoh meal
Seltzer (optional)
Spaghetti, for serving
Preparation
- Place diced onion in 8-quart pot set over low flame. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir until onions are soft.
- Add tomatoes and tomato paste. For each can you add, add a can of water.
- Add pepper to taste; raise heat to low-medium until mixture bubbles. Stir in salt to taste and continue cooking.
- Reserve 2 handfuls ground beef for the sauce, then in a large bowl mix the chopped meat with the eggs, matzoh meal and some water or seltzer. Form 1” round meatballs.
- Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan. Brown meatballs on all sides. Once browned, place the meatballs in the bubbling tomato sauce.
- In the same meatball pan, add the reserved ground beef and brown in leftover oil. Add meat to the sauce. Stir every few minutes and cook for at least 2 hours. Serve over spaghetti.
Yield: 12 or more
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