Soutzoukakia
Cumin scented oval meatballs simmered in a thick tomato sauce for 40 minutes, a Greek taverna dish.
Photograph credit: Soutzoukakia smyrneika (image of Smyrna meatballs on Wikidata Q1584788) by Perique des Palottes · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
The first sign they are ready is the smell: cumin, warm and earthy, and the sweet tang of tomato. Soutzoukakia are Greek meatballs shaped like short sausages, flavoured with cumin and garlic, and cooked in a tomato sauce. They came to Greece with the refugees from Smyrna, and are often called soutzoukakia smyrneika.
The mix is minced beef and pork, soaked bread, garlic, cumin, red wine vinegar, an egg, parsley and salt. Soak the bread in a little wine, squeeze it, then work it into the mince by hand. Chill the mixture for 30 minutes before shaping, so that it holds together in the pan. Roll into ovals about 6 cm long, dust with flour and fry in a little oil until browned on all sides.
For the sauce, soften onion and garlic, add tomatoes, a pinch of cinnamon, sugar and bay and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and cook gently for 20 minutes. Serve over rice or chips with the sauce, a squeeze of lemon and plenty of bread. The sauce thickens as it stands.
What People Ask
How long does Soutzoukakia take to make?
25 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking, plus 30 minutes of chilling, so allow 1 hour 35 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 4.
The Method for Soutzoukakia
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Squeeze the bread and mix by hand with the beef, pork, half the garlic, cumin, vinegar, egg, parsley and salt. Chill for 30 minutes.
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Shape into 16 ovals, dust with the flour and brown in 2 tablespoons of the oil for 6 minutes.
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Soften the onion and remaining garlic in the remaining oil for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay, cinnamon and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes.
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Add the meatballs and cook gently for 20 minutes.
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Serve over rice or chips.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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A Few Pointers
- Chill the mix before shaping.
- Brown the meatballs before the sauce.
- Simmer gently so they stay whole.
Swaps and Variations
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
What to Serve With It
Rice · Chips · Crusty bread · Red wine
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Greek Fried Potatoes, Greek Lemon Potatoes, Air Fryer Eggplant.
Leftovers and Storage
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Freeze for 2 months.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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