Savory soutzoukakia

For the meatballsStart by soaking the bread. Let the bread absorb the liquid for a few minutes. Squeeze out the liquid from the bread, crumble it and add to the large bowl with  all the other ingredientsmince, onion, garlic, egg, parsley, salt, pepper, cumin, olive oil. Knead until everything has become pliable and well incorporated.

Place in the fridge for at least an hour. The texture should be so, that you must be able to form the balls easily. The classic shape for soutzoukakia is not round, but oblong and it is medium in size.

In a large skillet heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil and add the meatballs. In a medium temperature brown them from all sides slowly. Don’t burn them! The whole process takes about 20 minutes.

Remove them from the pan and set them aside.

Prepare the sauceAdd 1/2 cup of olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion and the garlic. Then add the tomatoes, parsley, basil, pimento, cloves, cinnamon stick, salt, pepper and the 2 glass of water. Let everything simmer until the tomatoes have cooked, about 20 minutes.

When the sauce is ready, add the meatballs and let them boil in the sauce for 10 minutes.

Serve with  rice, pasta or mashed potatoes.