Albóndigas (Meatballs in spicy tomato sauce)

June 21, 2009 1 Comment

Tapas, are Spanish appetizers that are wonderful to have as a meal. Lots of little dishes means you get to sample many different flavors. We made these at a recent Tapas party. We modified our recipe to be beef only and they were still quite tasty. These meatballs have a wonderfully complex flavor, and you will definitely want to serve this up with fresh bread, the sauce is savory, and you won’t want to miss a drop of the sauce. This is a dish which originated with the Moors so you will usually find some exotic spices in most recipes, especially those from the Andalucian region where the Moors had the most influence.

Albondiagas – Meatballs in spicy tomato sauce

Albóndigas (Meatballs in spicy tomato sauce)

Author: http://www.proper-spanish-tapas.com/tapas-recipes-meat.html
Recipe Type: Appetizer
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Serves: 8

You can enjoy these Albóndigas anytime, they are perfect for when making a tappas dinner

Ingredients

For the meatballs:
6 ounces minced pork
6 ounces minced veal (or beef)
3 cloves garlic
2 ounces breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch cinnamon
salt and pepper
olive oil, for frying
For the sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 16 ounce can chopped tomatoes
3 to 4 teaspoons tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 ounce dry white wine
4 ounce chicken stock
4 ounce frozen peas (or fresh peas)
freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

For the meatballs

In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients (not the olive oil) until you have a nice stiff consistency. Cover and leave in the fridge for about half an hour. When ready, make your meatballs, taking about a tablespoon of mixture for each one. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs in batches on a med-high heat. You want them nicely browned. Add more oil if necessary for each batch. Drain on some kitchen roll and keep warm.

Use the same frying pan (but tip out any excess fat) to make use of the lovely meat juices that should have caramelized on the bottom. Add the oil if necessary and cook the onion until soft and translucent, then add the garlic, a few grinds of black pepper and cook for another minute or so. Make sure you don’t burn the garlic as it will taste bitter. Add the wine and increase the heat to high, let the wine boil for a minute or so to intensify the flavor. Add the can of tomatoes, the puree and the stock. Bring back to a boil then simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the peas, stir in the cayenne pepper and the meatballs and continue simmering for another 10 minutes.

Serve it up, piping hot, straight from the pan with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

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