1. Start with the sauce by heating the oil in a small saucepan. Add the chopped onion, garlic, chili flakes (optional), and smoked paprika powder – sauté for about 2-3 minutes until the onions are soft and glossy. Add the tomato passata and vinegar, season with some salt and pepper, and let the sauce simmer over low heat for about 30-45 minutes – the tomato sauce should have thickened a bit.

2. For the meatballs, add some olive oil to a frying pan and heat it up. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy. Transfer to a bowl and let cool down for a moment. Add the ground beef, parsley, breadcrumbs, and egg. Season with salt, pepper, and some nutmeg (optional), and mix until well combined. Shape the meat into small balls and place them on a plate or board, cover, and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

3. Add some more oil to the frying pan and heat it up. Cook/fry the meatballs for about 8-10 minutes on all sides until golden brown, if necessary, in several batches. When adding too many meatballs to the pan at once, the temperature might drop too quickly and the meat will not brown properly – this should be avoided. On the other hand, the temperature shouldn’t be too high either. Otherwise the meatballs will burn on the outside and still be raw on the inside. So be careful.

4. Once all the meatballs are nicely browned, add the tomato sauce, reduce the heat, and let the sauce and meatballs simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Be careful, the tomato sauce will bubble and splatter – place a lid on the pan, if necessary.

5. Transfer the Albóndigas with the tomato sauce to one (or several) serving bowl(s), drizzle with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with chopped parsley (optional). Serve with fresh bread.