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Mtewem (simmered meatballs): photo of the dish
Illustrative photo: Slothtysloth — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Everyday meals

Mtewem (simmered meatballs)

Mtewem is a simmered dish of meatballs cooked in a fragrant tomato sauce, served over semolina or pasta. Very popular with families, especially for weekend meals.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Boulettes

Sauce

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

On the side

Nutrition facts

550 kcal per serving

Protein
34.4 g
Carbohydrates
25.8 g
of which sugars
15.9 g
Fat
32.8 g
Fiber
7.5 g

Ecomely’s estimate, calculated from the ingredients with the ANSES Ciqual food composition table, excluding sides and seasoning added to taste.

Instructions

  1. Mix the ground meat with the grated onion, garlic, parsley, egg, breadcrumbs and half the spices. Knead well.
  2. Shape small meatballs about the size of a walnut.
  3. Brown the meatballs in the hot oil on all sides, then set them aside.
  4. In the same pot, cook the sliced onions gently for 8 minutes.
  5. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then the crushed peeled tomatoes and the remaining spices.
  6. Pour in the stock, return the meatballs to the sauce and simmer covered for 30 minutes over low heat.
  7. Adjust the seasoning and serve the meatballs with their sauce over semolina or pasta.

Variations and tips

Potato version. Add the potato wedges to the sauce before simmering for a more complete dish.

Using what you have. The breadcrumbs can be replaced with soaked and squeezed bread crumb.

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Original Ecomely recipe.