Chicken and Pumpkin Patties in Tomato Sauce with homemade tomato sauce

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meatball mix

1. 1
   Mix the ground meat with the pumpkin, onion, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, cumin, paprika, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.
2. 2
   With wet hands, shape patties the size of golf ball.

   💡Wet hands don't stick to the mixture, and the patties come out smooth and even.
3. 3
   Heat the oil in a pan and brown the meatballs 3–4 minutes per side.

   StoveFrying pan

   💡Brown first for a crust and a roasted flavor; without browning the meatballs are softer and absorb more of the sauce.

   💡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.
4. 4
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes with the salt. Don't cook it: the sauce cooks on the pizza in the oven.

   StoveSmall saucepan

   💡Spread cooled sauce on pizza: hot sauce softens the dough even before baking.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 5
   In a bowl, mix the tomato sauce with the salt. Don't cook it: the sauce cooks on the pizza in the oven.

   StoveSmall saucepan
6. 6
   Combine the meatballs and the sauce in the pot. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 20–25 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked and the sauce thickens.

   StovePotLid

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