Meatballs – Albondingas

28 Nov Meatballs – Albondingas

Again an old family recipe.  It is a fabulous Tapas dish and very easy to make.

Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 2 tbsp oil – you will need extra to fry the meatballs.
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
• 500g meat – pork or half and half beef and pork is also a great combination but anything you like will work.
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 egg

For the sauce

• 4 tbsp oil
• 2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
• 1 fresh chilli
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes – I like chunky bits but if you prefer you can use passata.

Method

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frypan and fry onion and garlic for a few mins until softened.  Cool.

Combine the cooled onion and garlic with the meat, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Make bite size balls – we used a tablespoon measure so they are all about the same size.

For the sauce in a large deep frypan, or if you’re like me use a wok,  heat oil and fry garlic, chilli and paprika for a couple of minutes.  Then add the canned tomatoes or passata.

Shallow fry the meatballs for only a few minutes just so the outside is browned.  I find this keeps them together.  Then add straight into the sauce and simmer very gently for a couple of hours, stirring gently so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve with crusty bread.