Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Rice

Ingredients

• 300 g rice
• 1 slice toast bread (from yesterday)
• 3 tbsp heavy cream
• 500 g ground beef
• 1 egg
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 250 g diced tomatoes (canned)
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 Shallot
• 1 Garlic clove
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 0.5 green bell pepper (for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook the rice according to package instructions.

2. 2.

   For the meatballs, pour the toast bread with cream and let it soak briefly. Add ground beef, egg, parsley, and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper and knead well. Shape small balls from the mixture.

3. 3.

   To make the tomato sauce, peel and finely chop the shallot and garlic, then sauté in hot olive oil in a pot until translucent. Stir in tomato paste, add diced tomatoes and sauce, simmer gently for about 10 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, honey, and lemon juice.

4. 4.

   Brown the meatballs in hot butter for 6-8 minutes on all sides and transfer them to the tomato sauce.

5. 5.

   Wash, halve, core, and slice the green bell pepper into very thin strips.

6. 6.

   Arrange the meatballs over the rice and sprinkle with the pepper strips before serving.