Sweet and sour meatballs recipe

(The Nosher via JTA)-Every Jewish home has a sweet and sour meatballs recipe. For some of us it's scribbled down on a soiled napkin. For others it's in our favorite kosher cookbook. And probably for most of us, it's not written down anywhere but instead trapped in our grandmas' heads.

That was the case for me until a couple of years ago, when my mom and I launched a mission to make a family cookbook. For hours we trailed my grandma around the kitchen with measuring cups, paper, a pen and lots of patience, and attempted to document one of our family's favorite recipes.

We are so happy we did! It's absolutely delicious. Tender meatballs, chicken wings (my family's twist on the classic!), and that heavenly sweet and sour sauce.

Let's talk about that sauce for a minute-it's the epitome of a Jewish classic. It shows up in our meatballs, stuffed cabbage and brisket. Slightly sweet and slightly tangy, this sauce is the perfect combination of onion, garlic, tomato sauce, sugar and lemon juice (for my family, at least). 

Now whenever I want to make sweet and sour meatballs, or my sister wants to, or my aunt wants to, we all pull out our copy of the family cookbook and can replicate Grandma's recipe perfectly. We still can't get Grandma to use her copy of the cookbook, but I guess she doesn't need to be reminded of the dishes she's been making us for years. Thanks Grandma.

Ingredients:

Chicken and Sauce:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pounds chicken wings

2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce

1 can chicken broth

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Meatballs:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 large red potato, peeled and grated

1/4 large onion, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

juice of 1 large lemon

Directions:

Heat vegetable oil in a 5-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and garlic.  Sauté until onions are soft, 5-6 minutes.

Add chicken, tomato sauce, chicken broth, sugar, salt and pepper.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is simmering, make the meatballs.  In a large bowl, add ground beef, grated red potato, grated onion, garlic, eggs, salt and pepper.  Mix together until just combined.

Form 1-inch meatballs and drop into the simmering sauce.  Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. 

Skim fat from top and discard. Add lemon juice and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Serve over wide egg noodles. Enjoy!

Samantha Mattox is the recipe developer and food lover behind Pass the Challah, a food blog full of crowd-pleasing kosher recipes. Check out her recipes at passthechallah.com.

The Nosher food blog offers a dazzling array of new and classic Jewish recipes and food news, from Europe to Yemen, from challah to shakshuka and beyond. Check it out at www.TheNosher.com.