Here’s a recipe update from early in this blog’s existence, in July of 2007. The recipe hasn’t changed but the quality of photos has changed. From these pics I snapped when I recently made (and ate) a batch of Soutzoukakia Smyrneika, I know you too will want to dive in and eat these head first!
Soutzoukakia are the smaller cousins of keftedes. These meatballs are quenelle-shaped (kinda like lil’ sausages) but the two meat recipes are the similar. What’s different here is the sauce and the use of cumin & cinnamon.
This dish is named after and brought to mainland Greece from the Greeks who used to live in Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) and it’s name, Smyrneika simply is the description of the style of meatballs/sausages as in “sausages in the style of Smyrna”.
This dish benefits from using very ripe tomatoes or very good jarred or canned tomato sauce. In this instance I used a can of plum tomatoes and I used a strainer to remove the seeds. Greeks will eat this accompanied by rice pilaf (the most traditional side), mashed potatoes, hilopites (egg noodles) or french fries.
Soutzoukakia Smyrneika
(serves 4)
for the sausages
1 medium onion, passed through your box grater
1 lb lean ground beef
2 slices of bread, soaked in white wine
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp sea salt & 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 egg, beaten
for the tomato sauce
1 can of plum tomatoes (796ml) , pureed and strained to remove seeds
1/4 cup of olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, grated
1/4 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Vegetable oil for frying
- To make the meatballs, add the ground beef, bread, onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, salt, oregano, pepper, egg and onion in a bowl and mix together. Let the mixture chill for at least an hour to marry. Roll up a small meatball and fry it up and have a taste. To make this dish a lighter, place the meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake in a pre-heated 425F oven for 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce. Start with olive oil, saute your onions with the bay leaves, add your sauce, wine, spices, season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- With dampened hands, form the beef into quenelle-shaped lil’ sausages. If frying, lightly coat the meat in flour and fry in about 1 cm. of vegetable oil over medium-high heat in batches. In the summer, I like to grill the the lil’ sausages and add them to the sauce at the end.
- Transfer the lil’ sausages to the saucepan containing the tomato sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the bay leaves & serve hot.
- Serve with a Vourvoukelis Avdiros Red from Xanthi, Thrace.
32 Responses
These look good. The use of cinnamon in a tomato sauce sounds interesting.
These look great Peter!!!I’d hope to serve them with rice which would sop up the sauce very well too!!!
that sounds wonderful. i love how the cinnamon and cumin are very Turkish in nature… and the meatballs are very Mediterranean.
great concept!
Superb – this just wowed four and a half members of our six person family. Of the other one and a half, one doesn’t eat meat and the other’s not keen on tomato sauce.
The five of us omnivores thought that the meatballs were amongst the best we’ve made, having grilled them on the barbecue and then submerged them in the sauce for 10 mins.
Thanks for sharing!
Gah! Soutzoukakia!!!! (and new pics!) Oh so good. It’s the ultimate comfort food, especially with those fries. My aunt makes a mean soutzoukakia (representin the Asia Minor Greeks!).
oh peter now this is comfort food at it’s best. man would i love some of this right now. love the side of fries. so hungry now!
Hi Peter – I have seen you often on Joan’s blog and wanted to pop in and say hello. I don’t mean for this to sound banal but it probably will – I love Greek food and am glad I found your blog so I can learn more of it.
I have no doubt my skills are rudimentary :)
Spicy mince sausages and fries – Oh my! enough to make one collapse in comfort food bliss!
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Soutzoukakia are both something I love to cook and eat … and it has been a long time since I’ve done either actually! I don’t think I made soutzoukakia all winter–what a crime!!
These look amazing Peter. I love the spice you’ve used here.
I would love to try this :) Great recipe!
Mmmm, delicious Peter! They look a bit like our albóndigas. I love the addition of the spices… and the french fries!!!! OMG, it’s been ages since I last had some.
What a splendid dish! So mouthwatering!
Cheers,
Rosa
So many flavors that I never associate with meatballs but that I’d love to try.
although i’d make a fool of myself trying to pronounce the name of this delightful dish, i’d give it my best shot if it meant i got to eat some–it must be so satisfying and blissful!
It’s amazing how much your blog has improved since those early days. I love the new pics and I am sure that these soutzoukakias are delicious!
ΩÏαίο φαγάκι Îχεις μαγειÏÎψει σήμεÏα Peter και οι φωτός σου όπως πάντα εξαιÏετικÎÏ‚ και “χοÏταστικÎÏ‚”!
When I started reading the recipe I expected to find the cumin and cinnamon in the meat — what a fun surprise to find it in the sauce instead!
I like that it is served with fries and with that sauce, who needs ketchup!
I love this combination, Peter. I’ve put allspice in tomato sauce, why not cinnamon? It sounds delicious.
I think I commented on the original version of this dish — and I’m leaving another comment here. These meatballs just speak to me: have to get it on the to-make-list now. Thanks!
Το αγαπημÎνο του γιου μου!
sounds yummy.
Cinnamon & cumin in tomato sauce….yum!
great dish and great recipe. Can I ask where did you get the recipe, is it yours, is it family etc? I’m going to try it this weekend, cant wait.
I know that Mamalakis recipe when he traveled there to Smyrna he featured a recipe he claims is the original, strangely without cinammon but thats usually unheard of to my knowledge. Main differences were the meatballs only had cumin, garlic, pepper,salt and bread soaked in red wine….the sauce was browned onions (sprinkle cumin on them, the smell is wonderful) and just tomato and cumin really. I’m sure there are many varieties, but I’m just curious about Smyrna-foods in general.
as for meghan, i wouldnt call meatballs a mediteranean food and cumin and cinnamon turkish….in fact it would be the other way around. Meatballs are more of an Ottoman influenced food…cinnamon in meat dishes is more of a greek thing, not common in turkish foods and in the turkish adaption of this dish called Izmir Kofte they don’t use it.. Cumin is spice used in Greek food since the eastern influences of Greek food in Ancient times with Alexanders dynasty and the Byzantine Empire which neighbored the East…. Ottomans obviously continued the trend though having absorbed quite a lot of the Byzantine capital and its culture into its own legacy.
The photo really perked me up when I saw this on your FB and I was excited to check out exacty what this was. Not only is that a really fun sauce, but I love how you soaked the bread for the meatballs in wine.
Reminds me of my grandmother! amazing!
I knew you would have this recipe!
We ate these at Kefi last night, and I am craving them for tonight’s dinner.
They had kalamata olives in them, so I am going to add them to your sauce.
You are my go to guy today for Sunday dinner.
The meatballs and fig walnut biscotti. Thank you friend!
Stace
One of my all time favorites! They look delicious, Peter!
Here, in Perú, we have the same dish!!! just with a different name! hahaha is amazing how 2 different cultures can have almost the same cuisine :D will try this dish this weekend :D