Tomato Sauce and Meatballs

Make the most of the late summer bounty while it’s still here! This recipe turns tomatoes and sweet peppers into a luscious pasta sauce. Pair it with meatballs packed with fresh summer herbs, and you’ll have a classic meal made with the best local ingredients. There's plenty of down time to catch up on things and enjoy the smells coming from your oven while the tomato sauce cooks low and slow for a couple of hours. This recipe makes a lot of sauce, so you can enjoy it fresh and freeze plenty for the colder months. Delicious served on pasta or Grits!

For the sauce: 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

1 cup onion, chopped

2 sweet peppers, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed 

4-5 pounds tomatoes, quartered 

Salt and pepper to taste 

1 bunch basil, removed from the stem and chopped

Step 1: preheat the oven to 300 degrees. While you wait, layer olive oil, chopped onion, sweet peppers and garlic in the bottom of a 9x12” baking dish, then top with your quartered tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bake for one hour. 

Step 2: Remove sauce from the oven and mash everything together with a potato masher. Once well-combined and broken down, return to the oven and cook for another hour or until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. 

Step 3: After you've removed the sauce from the oven and it's slightly cooled, add in your chopped basil and enjoy! Serve with meatballs and your pasta of choice. 

For the meatballs: 

1 pound ground beef 

1 medium onion, chopped and sautéed in 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme 

1 handful of crackers, crumbled

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you are cooking the meatballs and tomato sauce at the same time, you can leave the oven at 300. You just might need to cook the meatballs a little bit longer.

Step 2: Add all ingredients to a bowl and combine with your hands. You want the meatballs to be evenly mixed, but don’t overdo it and lose the texture. 

Step 3: Form 8 or so meatballs and sear them in butter on the stove until nicely browned on the outside. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Serve with the tomato sauce and enjoy!