Recipe: Oma’s famous macaroni

Trail Appliance’s Favourite Family Recipe Contest finalist Christine Van De Burgt shows Joe Fortes executive chef Wayne Sych how to roll two meatballs at a time while making her mother in-law’s famous macaroni with tomato sauce and meatballs, known in Dutch as Oma’s Beroemade Macaroni with tomatensus en gehaktballetjes.

Meatballs

• 1 ½ lbs of ground beef
• 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp garlic
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup of breadcrumbs
• 5 cups of water
• 3 Tbsps. of liquid beef bullion

Sauce

• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup margarine
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 – 156 ml can tomato paste
• ½ tsp Sambol Oelek (ground fresh chili paste)
• 2 Tbsps. Conimex Ketjap (sweet soya sauce)
• Garlic, salt & pepper to taste

1. 1. Make the meatballs first. Mix the ground beef, nutmeg, pepper, garlic, breadcrumbs, and egg.
   2. Roll the meatballs to whatever size you wish. We like them tiny as this is how Oma made them.
   3. In the meantime, bring the water and beef bullion to a slow boil on the stove. Add the meatballs to this
      mixture and gently boil until cooked.
   4. For the sauce, start by melting the butter and margarine on medium heat in a large pot. Slowly
      add the flour and whisk, forming a smooth thick roux.
   5. Slowly add the hot liquid from the meatballs whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
   6. Once all the liquid has been added you can then add the meatballs to the pot. Adding the meatballs last allows you to whisk thoroughly to create the sauce consistency.
   7. Finally add the remaining ingredients, tomato paste, ketjap, sambal, garlic, pepper and then salt to
      taste.
   8. Simmer on low to allow all flavours to meld together and server over cooked macaroni!

Note: This is how we make this recipe, but it is very adaptable as you can choose ground turkey. You can also make the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them. You can make the sauce thinner if you wish by adding more liquid. You can also choose your favorite cooked pasta. Enjoy!