Hedgehogs in tomato sauce: recipe, cooking secrets

There is a feast ahead, but you don’t know what to serve as the main course? Or do you need to prepare a delicious and quick dinner that would please the children and the husband? Hedgehogs in tomato sauce - perfect! It’s tasty, inexpensive, pretty fast and most importantly - beautiful! Read how to cook this dish in this article.

Cooking secrets

To cook hedgehogs in tomato sauce in the oven, you do not need special tricks. You just need to know a few rules that will make this dish much tastier and better.

1. Use round grain rice. It is more sticky, so it is used for making sushi at home. For hedgehogs, he will be good in that he will not allow the balls to fall apart or turn into flat cutlets.
2. There is much debate about whether to boil rice for hedgehogs. If you do not cook, then you need to devote more time to cooking - then the meat can turn out to be a little dry. The best option is to boil the rice until half cooked for 10-12 minutes and drain the water without rinsing it.
3. Use a good tomato paste. Thanks to her, hedgehogs in tomato sauce and get their gentle, sweet-sour taste. If you use powdered or low-quality tomato paste, then the whole dish has the risk of being spoiled.

The recipe for hedgehogs in the tomato "Children's"

This recipe differs from the usual one in that fewer spices are added, and minced chicken is used. The dish is very tender, and the balls melt in your mouth!

Ingredients:

• round grain rice - 130 grams;
• minced chicken - 340 grams;
• salt, pepper - to taste;
• egg - 1 large;
• tomato paste - 65 grams.

Cooking.

1. Take a small pan with thick walls, pour 260 ml of water and bring to a boil.
2. Rinse the rice until the water is clear. A very good option that saves effort is to pour rice into a deep cup and turn on a thin stream of water, sometimes stirring the rice. It is necessary to wait for the water to become transparent.
3. Pour rice into water, salt and cook for 9-13 minutes. Make the fire not very large, cover with a lid (do not mix while the rice is cooking, otherwise there will be porridge).
4. Remove rice from heat, stir and let cool. Get stuffed.
5. Put the minced meat in a deep bowl, salt and pepper, you can add a little ground garlic and herbs of Provence.
6. Put the cooled rice in the minced meat, mix well. Add the egg and knead by hand.
7. Blind the balls, put them on a baking sheet covered with foil or parchment for baking.
8. Make the sauce. Dissolve the tomato paste in a small amount of hot water in a pan or pan. Make a consistency to your liking.
9. Bring to a boil, salt and remove from heat. Pour the hedgehogs with the resulting sauce and cover with foil.
10. Bake in a preheated oven or oven for 30-40 minutes at a temperature of 175-180 degrees.
11. When serving, sprinkle with grated cheese or herbs. Enjoy your meal!

Classic hedgehogs in tomato sauce

This recipe has been a classic since ancient times. Uses regular pork and ground beef.

Ingredients:

• minced pork and beef 50 to 50 - 430 grams;
• onions - 65 grams (1 large);
• spices - to taste (turmeric, herbs of Provence, dried garlic are well suited);
• egg;
• round grain rice - 145 grams;
• tomato paste - 110 grams;
• water.

Cooking.

1. Boil the rice as described in the first recipe.
2. Chop the onion finely.
3. Place minced pork and beef in a deep bowl, add spices and knead well. Add the egg, onion and chilled rice, mix again to combine all the ingredients.
4. Roll up small balls and place on a baking sheet covered with foil.
5. Prepare the sauce according to the method described above, adding spices to your taste.
6. Pour the hedgehogs over the sauce and cover with foil. Bake for half an hour at 200 degrees.

Side dishes

Hedgehogs in tomato sauce will go well with mashed potatoes and stewed vegetables, but you can choose any side dish. Bon appetit and good luck in culinary experiments!