This dish is delicious any night of the week, providing enough sauce and meatballs for two meals.
Freeze half for a quick scrumptious weeknight dinner. Serve over spaghetti or make delicious 
meatball subs for the whole family.

Sauce
3 sweet peppers (red, yellow or orange),
halved and seeded
2 small onions, cut lengthwise into eighths
2 large tomatoes, sliced 1 cm ( 1/2 inch) thick
1 head garlic, top sliced off
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can (796 ml/28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (398 ml/14 oz) tomato sauce
15 ml (1 tbsp) balsamic vinegar
5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano
8 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

Meatballs
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small onion, quartered
1 sweet pepper (red, yellow or orange), quartered and seeded
50 ml ( 1/4 cup) fresh parsley
1 clove garlic
500 g (1 lb) lean ground beef, chicken or
pork (or combination)
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) dry breadcrumbs (more if needed)
125 ml ( 1/2 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano
2 ml ( 1/2 tsp) each salt and pepper
Olive oil

For sauce, place peppers, skin side down, on parchment paper-lined baking sheet; add onions, tomatoes and garlic. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Roast on lowest rack of 220 C (425 F) oven for 24 to 30 minutes or until browned around edges.

For meatballs, in a food processor, pulse celery, carrot, onion, sweet pepper, parsley and garlic until finely minced; drain and reserve excess juice for sauce.
 
In a large bowl, combine ground meat, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, egg, oregano, salt, pepper and minced vegetables; mix well, adding more breadcrumbs if mixture doesn’t hold together well. 
Form into 5-cm (2-inch) balls. In a large skillet, heat 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil; brown meatballs all over, about 6 minutes.

For sauce, remove and discard as much of the skin as possible from roasted peppers; coarsely chop and set aside.

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Squeeze roasted garlic from skins into pot. Add roasted onions, chopped peppers and tomatoes; saute until fragrant. Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, reserved juice from minced vegetables, vinegar, oregano, basil and salt and pepper to taste; bring to a boil. 

Add meatballs; reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink inside.  Serve over pasta or on whole-wheat buns. Makes 12 servings.


Source: Foodland Ontario