Mama's Saucy Meatballs (Chiftelute Marinate)

This is another childhood favorite dish. My mom made these as often as she could. She would actually flatten the meat into a burger like shape, then fry it. Nowadays, we roll the meat into balls, which still works great. The sauce it's what makes this dish different. It gives it a nice, homey flavor. Make sure to have some good bread to soak up all that goodness. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

-1/2 cup flour

For meatballs:
-2 lbs ground meat (can be all beef or a combination of ground beef and pork)

-1 slice bread, soaked in water for a minute, then carefully squeezed 

-1 large egg

-1 tsp salt

-1 tsp pepper

-1 Tbs dry dill

For sauce:

-2 cups water

-4 Tbs tomato paste

-1 bay leaf

-1 tsp salt

-1 tsp pepper

-2 tsp dry dill

Directions:

Mix well all the meatball ingredients, then shape into balls.

Heat the oil in large skillet. Dredge each meatball into flour, then quickly fry in hot oil. Make sure the meatballs are golden brown on all sides. It's ok if they're not cooked through at this point. Working in batches, fry all meatballs, then set aside on a plate.

Discard oil from skillet, and return to stove (make sure to keep all that brown goodness from the bottom). Add the water and tomato paste. Whisk until nice and smooth. Add remaining sauce ingredients and mix well. Return meatballs and any juices to skillet. Give it a good and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Discard bay leaf and serve hot with bread. YUM! Enjoy!