Directions
Delicious sea meatballs made from fresh sardines that are easily and quickly prepared in tomato sauce. They are blended in a chopper by pulsing and shaped. Then are boiled in tomato sauce for about 5 minutes and served.
For preparation you need cleaned sardines, and from a small amount of fish you can get a sufficient amount of meatballs, and just a few of them will fill you up because they are very rich in protein, and the sauce will give them a nice mild note and make them even more tastier.
One of the benefits of this powerful and healthy marine fish is that it is in the top 5 of the list of healthy foods along with salmon, trout, mackerel and shrimp. It protects the heart and blood vessels, is great for diabetics, and for everyone who wants to lose weight in a healthy way. You can read more details about the benefits of sardines in the link at the end of this post where you have another delicious and crispy recipe of fresh sardines.
Ingredients for the meatballs
500 grams of sardines (cleaned)
1 tsp garlic powder (or 2 cloves chopped)
1 tsp red paprika
1/3 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
chopped parsley to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
100 grams of bread crumbs for smearing 
Put all the ingredients in a blender, except for the breadcrumbs, and blend them by pulsing to get small pieces, being careful not to make the mixture mushy. Then shape smaller meatballs with your hands and roll each one in breadcrumbs.
Sauce ingredients
1 small onion chopped
1 clove of garlic
1/2 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp red paprika
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup tomato puree
zest of one lemon
2-3 thinly sliced lemon slices
2 bay leaves
3 tsp Olive oil
Add the finely chopped onion to a pan with the olive oil and fry it briefly until it becomes transparent, then add the chopped garlic, dry parsley and red pepper. Fry them briefly until you get a nice smell from the red paprika and add the tomato puree and water to them. Grate the peel of one lemon, and add 2-3 thinly sliced lemon slices and a bay leaves. After mixing, boil shortly the sauce until all flavors combine in the pan, and than add the meatballs one by one. Cook them for 5 to 8 minutes on medium heat, turning them once during the cooking enough to absorb the sauce from all sides.
Serve them on a plate and top them with the tomato sauce and a slice of lemon.
Have a good appetite and cook healthy food.
