Citric Acid Free Sunday Sauce with Herb-Spiced Meatballs
Sunday sauce is one of those deeply satisfying, slow-cooked meals that fills the whole kitchen with an aroma that makes everyone wander in asking when it'll be ready. The challenge with a classic tomato-based sauce for anyone avoiding citric acid is that canned tomatoes and tomato paste often sneak in additives or preservatives — but this recipe leans on whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes and a clean tomato paste with no hidden extras to worry about. The meatballs themselves are built from a beef-and-pork blend seasoned with fennel seeds, turmeric, and fresh parsley, then roasted at high heat before they ever touch the sauce, giving them gorgeous color and a deeper, more complex flavor. Almond flour stands in for breadcrumbs and does a beautiful job keeping the meatballs tender without any of the filler ingredients that can introduce unwanted additives. Once the meatballs nestle into the slow-simmered sauce, everything melds together into something rich, herbaceous, and genuinely comforting. A scatter of torn fresh basil and a drizzle of good olive oil at the end keeps it bright and a little luxurious. Serve it over pasta, a grain, or straight from the bowl — either way, this is the kind of Sunday cooking that earns its reputation.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef (85% lean)
- ½ lb ground pork
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the sauce
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 cans (28 oz each) whole peeled san marzano tomatoes
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
For serving
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, almond flour, eggs, parsley, minced garlic, fennel seeds, turmeric, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper. Mix with your hands until just combined — stop as soon as no streaks remain.
- 2
Roll the meat mixture into balls about 1½ inches in diameter (roughly 24 meatballs) and arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and roll to coat.
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