Italian Meatballs: … tutto buono!

Last night I decided I was going to make meatballs with fresh ground beef. Back in Massachusetts, my friend Linda showed me her real Italian recipe and I used her tips to make this dish. It is extremely flavorful and really simple. Once you start, you can't have enough! And don't forget to pair it with a good red wine, Italian or not, it is good anyways ;)

Serves 2
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 handful breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- salt & pepper
- 1 handful parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp Herbes de Provence (Provençal Herbes - or use a little some thyme, basil and rosemary)
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic clove, crushed

For the tomato sauce:
- olive oil
- 1 big can whole tomatoes (you can use diced tomatoes)
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 10 olives, pitted and chopped - green or black, both are delicious, you can mix
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- salt & pepper

Start preparing the meat balls, mixing beef, egg, breadcrumbs, fennel seeds, parsley, onion and garlic. Use your end, that's better to mix everything well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion first and when it starts being translucid, add the garlic and the olives. Let cook for a few minutes; it should be brown but not burn. Add the tomato paste and let cook again for 1 minute. Then add the whole tomatoes. [I like using whole tomatoes because it is less liquid than a regular tomato sauce and I also like eating the tomato pieces with the meatballs.]
Wait until it starts boiling gently.

Start rolling the meat balls. Take a small quantity of meat in your hands and roll it to make a ball [2 inch diameter max]. Place the meatballs into the sauce and let simmer for about 45 minutes, turning the meatballs after about 25 minutes.