Summery keftedes topped with tomato sauce and cheese

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g minced beef or lamb
• 400 g tomatoes, chopped
• 500 g tomatoes, pureed
• 1 cup of Italian herbs, frozen
• salt and pepper
• Sugar
• 2 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 200 g cheese, grated
• Margarine or olive oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

Chop the onions and garlic cloves. Mix half of them with the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Form golf-ball-sized balls and fry them in margarine or olive oil in a large pan. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a baking dish, leaving a little space between the balls. Reduce the heat significantly. Briefly sauté the remaining chopped onions and garlic. Add the herbs, passata, and diced tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cover and simmer gently for half an hour. You can also pour the sauce directly over the meatballs, but they taste better pre-cooked. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (fan). Pour the tomato sauce over the meatballs and bake for 20 minutes. Remove, sprinkle with cheese, and bake for another 10 minutes. We add a store-bought flatbread to the oven for the last 10 minutes, so it’s hot and crispy. Serve with a Greek farmer’s salad and perhaps tzatziki.