Boulettes de Viande (French Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

About This Recipe

Boulettes de viande are the French home-cooking answer to meatballs -- a blend of beef and pork bound with soaked bread rather than breadcrumbs, seasoned simply with garlic, parsley, and nutmeg, and simmered gently in a tomato sauce brightened with a splash of white wine and fresh thyme. It's unpretentious bistro and family fare, found on menus alongside dishes like blanquette de veau, valued for being comforting rather than showy. The technique that makes French-style meatballs distinctly tender is using soaked, squeezed bread (pain trempe) instead of dry breadcrumbs as the binder -- this keeps the interior moist and light rather than dense. The meatballs are browned first to build flavor through the fond left in the pan, which is then deglazed with white wine before the tomato sauce and herbs are added, letting the meatballs finish cooking directly in the simmering sauce. Served over pasta, rice, or with crusty bread for the sauce, boulettes de viande is the kind of dish French grandmothers make without a recipe -- straightforward, reliably good, and endlessly comforting.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 sliceswhite bread(crusts removed)
• 0.33 cupmilk
• 300 gground beef
• 200 gground pork
• 1egg
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 3 tbspfresh parsley(chopped)
• 0.25 tspnutmeg
• 1 tspsalt
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1onion(diced)
• 0.5 cupdry white wine
• 700 gcrushed tomatoes
• 2 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1bay leaf

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the bread

   Tear bread into pieces and soak in milk for 5 minutes, then squeeze out excess milk.

2. 2

   Mix the meatballs

   Combine beef, pork, soaked bread, egg, garlic, parsley, nutmeg, and salt. Mix gently and shape into meatballs.

3. 3

   Brown the meatballs

   Heat olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Brown meatballs on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Remove and set aside.

4. 4

   Saute the onion

   In the same pan, cook onion 5 minutes until soft, scraping up browned bits.

5. 5

   Deglaze

   Add white wine and simmer 2 minutes until reduced by half.

6. 6

   Simmer the sauce

   Add crushed tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaf. Return meatballs to the pan, cover, and simmer 20-25 minutes until meatballs are cooked through and sauce has thickened.

7. 7

   Serve

   Remove bay leaf and thyme stems. Serve hot over pasta or rice, or with crusty bread.

Variations

• •

  Add a handful of sliced mushrooms to the sauce for extra earthiness.

• •

  Use ground veal instead of pork for a more delicate, traditional French flavor.

• •

  Finish with a splash of cream stirred in at the end for a richer, rosee-style sauce.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container; the flavor deepens overnight. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat. Freezes well up to 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions