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Voyajer
Sun, Jun-16-02, 15:18
I feel almost guilty giving this recipe away because it is soooo wonderful and a trade secret handed down generation to generation by a family in Italy. But come to think of it, most true Italians use some form of this recipe for pasta sauce. I was eating this because it tastes so fantastic before I ever heard of low carb. Easier than it looks when you get used to making it and very versatile. Packed full of nutrients and less than 100 calories per serving of sauce. Can be used in all phases of Atkins including induction despite the 1/2 carrot which when divided by 12 servings is minimal.

Enzo's Marinara Sauce

(Use only fresh ingredients for best results)

Chop the following ingredients:

1/2 large brown onion (or white)
1/2 bulb garlic (5 cloves)
10 pcs finely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 medium bunch fresh Italian parsley finely chopped
1/2 can of olives chopped

Also need:
1/2 large carrot grated
2 baskets cherry tomatoes or 8 medium tomatoes
1/2 tsp white vinegar
8 small mushrooms (optional)
1/3 cup olive oil

In large pot, put olive oil and 1 tiny piece of onion. Turn on heat and when onion starts to sizzle a little, put in onion and garlic. Saute until onion is a little transparent. Add all other ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer covered at least 1/2 hour, but you can keep the heat on up to 3 hours or until sauce becomes as thick as you like. (If watery when using whole tomatoes, then leave cover off pot while simmering until thicker.)

This recipe is versatile and need not be followed to the letter. Add tomato paste if you like the flavor. Amounts of ingredients can vary. It changes the flavor a little each time, but it's always delicious.

Meatballs

Prepare meatballs by mixing thoroughly, 1/2 lb ground sirloin or ground beef, 1/3 cup cream, 1 beaten egg, 3 tablespoons grated cheese, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste. (If you can add a few extra carbs then add 1/4 cup flavored Italian bread crumbs.) Shape meatballs. Brown in fying pan with olive oil. Place meatballs in separate pot and cover with enough sauce to top of meatballs, simmer 30 minutes. Leftover sauce can be used over roast chicken and/or fresh mozzarella cheese for tomorrow's lunch.


P.S. Someone might do me the favor of doing the carb/calorie count.

P.P.S. Don't tell anyone I told you about this recipe! You'll be addicted to it, I promise.

Voyajer
Sun, Jun-16-02, 17:58
The sauce is about 78 calories per serving with net 4 carbs. The meatballs are zero carbs per meatball unless you eat quite a few then you'll get 1 or 2 carbs.

Lessara
Mon, Jun-17-02, 10:54
by the way, a good substitute for breadcrumbs in meatballs is porkrinds crushed soaked in cream. It really works!

Bonnie
Mon, Jun-17-02, 11:12
Looks great "VOYAJER" :lol: (inside joke)...I have a Italian friend from a community entirely made up of Italians and she claims the secret to a great pasta sauce is adding Italian sausage...that's the only ingredient I would change in this recipe :thup:

Bonnie

Voyajer
Mon, Jun-17-02, 20:14
Thanks for the tips.

The sausage sounds like a wonderful addition. I'll have to try it.

Voyajer
Thu, Jun-27-02, 13:37
Okay,

so I tried it with pork rinds and I wasn't too thrilled with it. The meatballs tasted like pork and were a little too greasy. I recommend increasing the grated cheese in lieu of bread crumbs.

The italian sausage idea was great! Since it does flavor the meat, I bake it separately in the oven covered with italian seasoning in a little olive oil, then serve covered with the sauce. Yummy! (That way I can use the extra sauce for chicken cacciatore or over Keto low carb pasta)

asmile4u
Sat, Aug-10-02, 16:14
I just want you to know these are the best meatballs i have ever eaten. I make up a triple recipe and munch on them all thru the week. They are soooooo. They are great when you are in a nibbable mode. I haven't made the sauce yet. I just cheat with some canned tomato sauce i spice up my self. thanks for this recipe. tina

Norma June
Sat, Feb-21-04, 10:20
Voyajer ... could you please give us your recipe for Chicken Cacciatore? I love that dish but never learned how to make it.

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/snowbirdNJP/cantgetoffline.gif

Karen
Sun, Feb-22-04, 02:18
Hi NJ! If you look at Voyajer's profile, you'll see she hasn't been around since May of 2003. :)

Here's a recipe that looks good and easy.

http://southernfood.about.com/library/rec03/bl30326k.htm

Karen

Kristine
Sun, Feb-22-04, 14:32
I made Chicken Cacciatore similar to the recipe Karen posted and it was *outstanding*!! Unfortunately, I ran out of the key ingredient: some extremely dry cider I made two summers ago. If you can afford the carbs, try it with some dry cider. :thup:

I'd post the recipe, but I just "winged" it. You probably can, too, and I'm sure you'll like what you make. :thup:

auntgranny
Mon, Mar-22-04, 10:44
If Karen says something is good it probably is. I'm a very big fan of hers and got to the Fish House in Stanley Park whenever I visit Vancouver!!!

*Christy*
Sat, Oct-23-04, 16:52
I just made this tonight and I have to say it is delicious. The taste wins hand down over jar sauce. I did everything exactly as indicated, except I added I small can of tomato paste to the sauce and I used half sausage half hamburger for the meatballs. I also made 4 times the meatballs so I could freeze some. The meatballs are delicious as well. I plan on making some eggplant parm later in the week and will use what I have left of this sauce. Fresh ingredients do make all the difference!

Thanks so much for sharing this!

Yaberhoo
Sun, Jan-09-05, 00:59
This recipe is so good that it deserves a bumpity bump bump!

LukeA
Sun, Jan-09-05, 23:18
My italian friend makes something almost exactly the same except with the addition of a little cinnamon, and its delcious, so this is definately on a "to do" list. :agree:

Sharlay
Mon, Jan-10-05, 11:10
it sounds so good!