Russian Meatballs with Gravy
Beefy meatballs cooked with Russian gravy, mushrooms and red peppers. Comfort food that's kid friendly and delicious. Kotleti are served with pasta or mashed potatoes (Котлеты с подливкой)
Servings 6 people
Ingredients
Russian Meatballs - Kotleti
- 2 pounds /1kg ground beef
- 2 small onions grated or finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup flour for coating meatballs
- oil for frying vegetable or sunflower oil
Vegetables
- 1 medium onion diced
- ½ pound /250g mushrooms sliced
- 1 large red pepper cubed 2" pieces
- oil for frying
Russian Gravy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 2½ cups hot water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound /500g spiral corkscrew pasta
Instructions
Russian Meatballs - Kotleti
- Mix together ground beef, grated onion, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.
- Form the meat patties using your hands. Make them into a tight ball (like a snowball), and slightly flatten with your hands into a rounded patty, keeping the edges rounded and width uniform throughout. Put on a plate or tray, ready for frying.
- Lightly coat the meatballs in flour before frying. Gently shake off excess flour.
- Heat oil into a frying pan until hot on medium-high. Fry meatballs until they are lightly golden cooked on both sides. (approx 2-3 minutes per side). They will continue to cook in the gravy.
Vegetables
- Caramelize onions in 1 tablespoon of oil. Set side.
- Saute the sliced mushrooms until the juices are release and they turn golden brown, about 7-8 minutes. Set aside.
- Quickly flash fry the red peppers for about 1-2 minutes, maximum. Don't overcook the peppers or they will become mushy in the gravy. Set aside.
Russian Gravy Sauce
- Melt butter in frying pan. Add flour and mix until smooth. Cook flour mixture for 2 minutes on medium-low heat constantly stirring. Careful not to burn the roux. Mix in tomato paste and cook for another minute.
- Add the caramelized onions to the roux. Slowly whisk in 2½ cups of hot water (or broth). Keep stirring until lump free. Add a bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened. Add salt and pepper. If sauce is too thick, add more water.
- Place the cooked meatballs in a large pot. Add the mushrooms and peppers over the meatballs. Pour the gravy covering the the meatballs, bring to a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Serve over spiral pasta, or with mashed potatoes.