spanish meatballs w/ pepper and tomato wine sauce olives

By foodiva

Ingredients

• ground beef - 1.5 pounds (you can substitute with ground turkey, pork, veal, bison or whatever your little heart desires.)
• crackers - 1.5 cups (I used Mark and Spencers Black olive crackers but you can exchange with gluten free breadcrumbs- put cracker in a sealed plastic bag and pound with a rolling pin until small crumbs)
• olives - 1 cup roughly chopped (I used black seedless but you can use whatever kind you have on hand)
• paprika - 1 teaspoon
• basil - 1 teaspoon
• oregano - 1 teaspoon
• egg - 1 beaten
• olive oil - 1/4 cup
• parsley - 1 large bunch flat leaf chopped
• salt and pepper - to taste
• olive oil - 1 tablespoon
• onion - 1 small chopped
• red bell pepper - 1/2 chopped or about 1/4 cup
• garlic - 3 cloves minced
• red wine - 1 cup
• basic tomato sauce - 1 jar - 24 ounces (I used Prego but use whatever you have on hand or make your own homemade)
• paprika - 1 teaspoon
• basil - 1 teaspoon
• oregano - 1 teaspoon
• salt and pepper - to taste

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from bamskitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C (375 degrees F)

Step 2: Make the Spanish Meatballs: Mix the ground beef, cracker crumbs, olives, paprika, basil, oregano, egg, olive oil parsley and salt and pepper. Mix well and form mixture into small 1.5 inch meatballs. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Step 3: In the meantime, make the sauce: In a large skillet, place olive oil, chopped onion, chopped red pepper, minced garlic and cook until translucent. Add red wine to the mixture and then add the red tomato sauce, paprika, basil, oregano and salt and pepper to taste.

Step 4: Add baked meatballs to the sauce to finish off cooking and baste for about 5 minutes.

Step 5: Enjoy as a delicious hot tapas or as a lunch or dinner with a tossed salad and maybe a slice of crusty bread to soak up that delicious sauce.