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Le Chaudron recipe
Boulettes de viande à l'italienne
Italian meatballs in tomato sauce
⏱ 45 minServes 4Easy520 kcal
A recipe from Le Chaudron — the cooking of France’s regions.
01 — Ingredients4 servings
800 g (28 oz)ground beef (85% lean)
200 g (7 oz)Italian sausage meat
100 g (3½ oz)fine breadcrumbs
80 g (3 oz)grated Parmesan
2whole eggs
1yellow onion
4 clovesgarlic
800 g (28 oz)canned peeled tomatoes
200 ml (¾ cup)red wine
2 tbsptomato paste
4 tbspextra-virgin olive oil
1bunch of fresh basil
1 tbspdried oregano
1 tspsugar
1 tspfine salt
1 tspfreshly ground pepper
- 800 g (28 oz) ground beef (85% lean)
- 200 g (7 oz) Italian sausage meat
- 100 g (3½ oz) fine breadcrumbs
- 80 g (3 oz) grated Parmesan
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 800 g (28 oz) canned peeled tomatoes
- 200 ml (¾ cup) red wine
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch of fresh basil
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Quantities scaled for — some (egg, lemon, garlic…) are rounded to what’s practical.
Serves 4. In the app, quantities adjust to the number of guests on their own — and the ingredients go straight to your shopping list.
03 — Method
- Peel the yellow onion and chop very finely (3 mm / ⅛ in dice). Remove the germ from the 4 garlic cloves and crush them. Chop half the basil, keeping the rest for garnish.
- In the large bowl, combine the ground beef, Italian sausage meat, fine breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, 2 eggs, half the onion, 1 crushed garlic clove, the oregano, salt and pepper. Knead 3 minutes to combine.
- With damp hands, roll even meatballs the size of a large walnut (about 40 g / 1½ oz each). Set them on a tray as you go.
- Heat 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in the large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in batches for 8 minutes on all sides.
- Set aside. In the same pan, soften the rest of the onion and garlic for 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook 1 minute.
- Deglaze with the red wine, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce 3 minutes over high heat. Add the crushed peeled tomatoes with their juice, the sugar, salt, pepper and chopped basil.
- Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes over low heat until thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Return the meatballs to the simmering sauce, cover and cook 20 minutes over low heat. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve with spaghetti or polenta.
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