Red Sauce Greek Recipes

GREEK BAKED MEATBALLS: SOUTZOUKAKIA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, place the toasted bread and cover with milk (or water) to soak. When bread is soft and well-soaked, squeeze the liquid out completely and discard remaining milk if any.
• Transfer the bread to a large mixing bowl. Add round beef and remaining meatball ingredients. Knead well until well-combined. Cover the meat mixture and rest in the fridge for now.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• While oven is heating, prepare the sauce. In a sauce pan or large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes or so. Add garlic and cook for another minute, stirring regularly. Now add red wine and cook to reduce by about 1/2, then add tomato sauce, bay leaf and remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Prepare a large baking dish and lightly oil the bottom with extra virgin olive oil.
• Take the meat mixture out of the fridge. Wet your hands and scoop portions of about 2 1/2 tbsp of the meat mixture and form into large elongated meatballs (football-shaped.) You should have 15 to 16 meatballs or so. Arrange meatballs in the papered baking dish and top with the sauce (be sure to have removed the bay leaf from the sauce.)
• Place the baking dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the meatballs are well cooked through (check part-way through to make sure sauce is not dry, and if needed, add a little bit of water to the bottom of the baking dish.)
• Remove from oven and add another drizzle of EVOO. Garnish with parsley and serve over rice or orzo.

CLASSIC RED SAUCE

Steps:

• Puree the tomatoes to a smooth, creamy consistency in a food processor or with an immersion blender. (If you like a more country feel, you can wait and break them up in the pan later with a wooden spoon.)
• Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. When hot, add the onion and saute 5 to 6 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until you see the color start changing. If you'd like to make the sauce spicy, add the red pepper flakes.
• Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer about 30 minutes. (If you did not puree the tomatoes, use a wooden spoon to break them into pieces while they cook.) Strive for balance in the consistency of the sauce: It has to be fluid, but it should not look overly wet. Add the basil and remove from the heat. Toss with just-cooked pasta.

RED SAUCE- GREEK

Steps:

• 1. Fry onion, garlic, red pepper and carrots until they're softened a little. Add wine and simmer so that the alcohol evaporates. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half. For a smoother sauce, let cool a little and put in the blender.

GREEK MEAT SAUCE (KIMA)

Steps:

• Fry onion and garlic gently in oil or butter until onion is transparent.
• Increase heat and add ground meat.
• Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until juices evaporate and meat begins to brown.
• Lower heat, and add remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste.
• Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
• Remove bay leaf and cloves before serving.

GREEK TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat a large non-stick frying pan and add the olive oil.
• Sauté the onion and garlic until clear.
• Add the tomatoes, parsley and oregano.
• Simmer, covered, until the tomatoes are very tender, about 25 minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients and cook an additional 20 minutes.
• The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for several days.