Almôndegas, Brazilian beef and pork meatballs in tomato sauce

Ingredients

• 800 g of ground beef (prime cut)
• 200 g of ground pork
• Half an onion
• 2 tablespoons of yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons of ketchup
• 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 eggs
• salt
• oil for deep frying
• 500 g of peeled and seeded tomatoes, chopped
• 200 g of finely chopped carrots
• 100 g of finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• ½ liter of water
• 1 tablespoon of beetroot powder (also known as annatto; alternatively, mild paprika)
• 1 sprig of basil

For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion until it becomes translucent.

Add the tomatoes, carrots, water, beetroot, and basil, and cook until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then blend the sauce in a blender.

For the meatballs, pulse the beef, pork, and half an onion twice in a food processor with a fine-mesh plate.

Add the mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, and salt, and mix with your fingers until the mixture is smooth.

Make meatballs no larger than 35g each, without packing them tightly, so they remain soft.

Place them in a frying pan, cover with cold oil, then turn on the heat and let them fry for about 20 minutes, until they are nicely golden brown. Drain them in a colander.

Heat the sauce, add the meatballs, cover, and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes before serving.