Beef Meatballs with Green Beans and Zucchini in Tomato Sauce with homemade tomato paste – Gluten-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Meatball mix

1. 8
   Mix the ground meat with the onion, parsley, eggs, gluten-free breadcrumbs, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.
2. 9
   With wet hands, shape patties the size of a walnut, about 20 patties.

   💡Wet hands don't stick to the mixture, and the patties come out smooth and even.

To assemble

1. 10
   Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a wide pot and brown the meatballs 2 minutes per side, just until browned on the outside. Transfer to a plate.

   StoveWide, shallow pot

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
2. 11
   Heat the rest of the olive oil in the wide pot over medium heat.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 12
   Add the onion and fry 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 13
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
5. 14
   Add the pepper and fry about 10 minutes, stirring, until it softens.

   Stove
6. 15
   Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, paprika and sugar and bring to a boil.

   Stove
7. 16
   Return the meatballs to the sauce and add the green beans, ends trimmed, and the zucchini. Shake the pot so the vegetables sink into the sauce. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 35–40 minutes, until the green beans are completely tender and the sauce thickens.

   StoveWide, shallow potLid

   💡Drop the meatballs into boiling sauce and don't stir at first: that way they firm up and keep their shape.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
8. 17
   Serve with white rice.