Old school meatballs in tomato sauce

Meatballs seem to be the comfort food of every nation.
Finnish people serve them in creamy brown sauce with mashed potatoes, Swedes prefer basic brown onion sauce or plain with cranberrys and boiled potates, but I think the most famous is the Italian version of spaghetti and meatballs in tomato sauce.
Here's my version of which I claim the whole credit (or blaime for that matter) since my mom never made them in tomato sauce but always the Finnish style.

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Meatballs

• 400g of grounded beef
• 2 slices of toast soaked in milk
• 1 big or 2 small onions chopped and fried until golden brown
• 1 egg
•  salt, pepper and tabasco for seasoning

Add the fried onions, egg and seasoning to the meat. Squeeze the slices of toast dry from the excess milk and add. Mix well together. Leave the meat to the fridge so the flavours have time to even out. Meanwhile prepare the tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce

• 2 cans (á 500g) of crushed tomatoes
• 2 cans (á 140g) tomato pyree
• 2 dl of cheap red wine (you can also use a mixture of tomatojuice and water 1/1)
• 1 small onion chopped and fried untilgolden brown
• 4 crushed gloves of garlic
• salt & pepper
• from the spices feel free to add or remove accrding to your preferences. Examples
• oregano
• thyme
• marjoram
• tarragon
• savory
• basil

I usually use my ready made mixture of  Herbes de Provence* which I bougth while travelling in Paris. :)

Chop and fry the onions

add tomato pyree and garlic and let it warm up on the pan but be carefull not to burn them since the flawour will be very tangy after that. Add canned tomatos and fluids and let it zimmer on medium heat while makin the meatballs

Pour some oil on your hands (this way the meat mixture won't get stuck on your fingers) and roll small balls from the mixture, place the balls in neat little circles arount the pan in the sauce. Lower the heat just a bit and cover the pan. 

Avoid mixing the sauce since you might end up with just meat sauce if the meatballs break.

Let the meatballs cook slowly untill done (this takes about 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the meatballs). If it looks like the sauce is running out you can add sme more water/ tomato juice/wine and mix carefully

Serve with spaghetti and parmesan cheese

* http://en.wikipedia.orgm wiki/Herbes_de_Provence