Spanish meatballs
Spanish meatballs or albondigas – a great tapas dish.
Ingredients
250g (about 4) good-quality sausages
400g lean beef mince
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and very finely chopped
1-2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
700g jar of passata or frito (tomato pulp)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Method
1. Squeeze the sausage meat from its casings into a large mixing bowl. Add the beef mince, chilli flakes, garlic, parsley and half the chopped oniion and mix it thoroughly (it’s easiest to do this with your hands but use a fork if you prefer.) Season the mixture generously with salt and black pepper.
2. Sprinkle a little flour on a chopping board and lightly flour your hands. Take heaped teaspoons of the mixture and shape into walnut-sized balls until all the mixture has been used.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 190C. Heat 1tbsp of the olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and fry the meatballs until brown all over. When they are all browned, transfer them to a large ovenproof dish that can hold them all in a single layer.
4. Heat the remaining tbsp. of oil in the same frying pan. Add the remaining onion, diced pepper and paprika and saute for about 2-3 mins. Stir in the passata or tomoato pulp, bring to the boil and cook for a further 3 mins. Season to taste.
5. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook for 30-35 mins. or until lightly browned, turning once during cooking.
6. Serve the meatballs warm with cocktail sticks.
This recipe is from a book called 100 Great Tapas by Pippa Cuthbert, published by Cassell ISBN-10: 1 84403 533 6.
