Ingredients:

• To prepare the meatballs
• 500 g of minced meat (200 g of lean pork and 300 g of beef kidney). The best minced meat is the one that you choose in the butcher’s shop and that they
• mince at the moment.
• the moment, forget the already prepared ones.
• 1 egg.
• 50 g of breadcrumbs.
• 100 ml of milk.
• 1 clove of garlic.
• Wheat flour for the breading.
• Seed oil for frying and salt.
• For the homemade tomato sauce
• 1/2 kg of ripe pear tomatoes or canned tomatoes, chopped or sieved. You can also use other types of tomatoes that you like better, but they must be juicy and
• especially ripe.
• juicy and above all ripe. In summer I use pear tomatoes, but when they are not in season, I usually use sieved tomatoes.
• 2 cloves of garlic.
• 1 onion.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar.
• Basil, oregano or other herbs or spices (optional).
• Olive oil.

And if you feel like a garnish, you will need potatoes, about 1 or 2 per person, depending on whether they are large or small.

Preparation:

1. Put the breadcrumbs in a bowl and pour the milk. Stir and mash to soften them.
2. Peel and chop the garlic very finely and add it to the bowl together with the meat, the egg and a little salt. Mix everything well until the mixture is homogeneous.
3. Take small portions by hand or with the help of two spoons, form a circle and roll it in flour. Lately I usually use an ice cream scoop for this task, but I don’t fill it completely because otherwise they would be too big, but to shape them it makes the task much easier and the dough doesn’t stick.
4. When all the balls are ready, put plenty of oil in a deep frying pan or saucepan and put it over medium-high heat. When it is hot, fry the balls in small groups of 4 or 5 so that the oil does not get too hot. If they burn too quickly, reduce the heat and if they take too long, increase it.
5. When you see that they have browned a little on the outside, remove them without oil with a draining spoon and place them on a plate with kitchen paper.
6. Now we move on to the tomato sauce. Peel the garlic cloves and the onion and chop them finely.
7. Put a saucepan (preferably high, because when cooking tomatoes it tends to splatter) with a drizzle of olive oil over medium-low heat and when it is hot, add the garlic and onion and fry them, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, it will take about 10 minutes.
8. If you use sieved tomatoes, skip to the next step. If you use fresh tomatoes, wash them very well and if you don’t want the skin or seeds, crush them (with a blender or food processor) and strain them, but if you don’t care about the skin, simply cut them into small pieces.
9. When the onion starts to brown, add the tomato to the pot along with the salt and sugar (the sugar is there to reduce the acidity of the tomato, but you can omit it if you prefer).
10. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for about 30-45 minutes (if it splashes a lot, cover the pot with a lid, but tilt it a little so that the vapors evaporate and the sauce thickens), although you will have to decide the time because it depends on the type of tomato you use and it is important that the consistency is right for your taste. I like it to be very thick, and if I use sieved canned tomatoes, it usually takes 30 minutes.
11. If the consistency is to your liking, taste it and adjust the salt or sugar to your liking.
12. In the meantime, you can prepare the potato filling. Wash the potatoes a bit if they are dirty, put them in a microwave safe bowl and steam them for 8-10 minutes or until you can pierce them and they no longer split open.
13. Peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks and fry them in a cast iron skillet with a little oil until lightly browned and season to taste. They are very healthy and not at all fatty, tender inside and golden on the outside, delicious!
14. When the sauce is ready, add the meatballs, mix well and fry for another 5 minutes to absorb the flavor.