Albondigas - Spanish Meatballs
If you like spicy tomato sauce and meatballs, this recipe is perfect for you. This plate of small, shareable food is considered to be a tapas dish. Tapas have their roots in Spain and are small, savory dishes served as light bar fare. In Spain they are often complementary and are usually served with beer or wine. We made this recipe with De Arbol chiles, which can be very spicy. Use just one if you don't want them to be very hot, or omit them entirely if you don't want any heat at all.
Enjoy these meatballs with a thin slice of baguette to act as a scoop. Shave some manchego cheese over your albondigas to add even more contrast to the spiciness of the sauce and the freshness of the parsley.
If you're serving them as an appetizer this would be good for 6-8 people. If you want to serve this as a meal, it's good for four people, and would be lovely over polenta or rice with a crisp green salad and some grilled asparagus on the side.
For meatballs:
- 1/2 pound each lean ground beef and pork
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup panko or regular bread crumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon Whole Nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Korintje Cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
For sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 De Arbol Chiles, ground
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 6 ounces dry white wine
- 6 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded, and diced
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 large spring onion, sliced in 1/8-inch rounds
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper Medium Grind to taste
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for meatballs except olive oil. Mix thoroughly.
- Cover and place in refrigerator for about 2 hours. This will make mixture easier to handle.
- Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a pan. Preheat oven to 200°F.
- Add meatballs in batches, being careful not to crowd them in the pan. Cook until golden brown.
- Remove from pan into an oven-proof dish and keep meatballs warm in oven. Wipe out pan.
- In the same pan, add 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until opaque.
- Add ground De Arbol Chiles, white wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, your choice of stock, and spring onion.
- Simmer approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from pan and stir in parsley. Add Kosher Salt and Black Pepper Medium Grind if desired.
- Remove meatballs from oven and place in a tapas dish. Pour sauce over meatballs and serve piping hot.
