Albondigas Recipe
spanish style meatballs, catalonian tomato sauce, manchego
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Ingredients
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Meatballs
Catalonian Tomato Sauce (Salsa Catalana)
To Finish & Serve
Method
Meatballs
- 1
Prepare the binding
Place the bread crumbs in a small bowl and pour the milk over them. Let soak 5 minutes until softened, then break up any large pieces with a fork.
- 2
Mix the meatball ingredients
In a large bowl combine ground beef, ground pork, grated onion, minced garlic, chopped parsley, egg, soaked breadcrumbs, smoked paprika, ground cumin, salt and black pepper. Mix gently with your hands or a spoon until evenly combined; avoid overworking to keep meatballs tender.
- 3
Shape the albóndigas
Using wet hands, form the mixture into 1 1/4–1 1/2 inch (3–4 cm) meatballs. You should get about 20–24 meatballs depending on size.
- 4
Brown the meatballs
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add meatballs without crowding and brown on all sides, about 2–3 minutes per side. Transfer browned meatballs to a plate. They do not need to be fully cooked through as they will finish cooking in the sauce.
Catalonian Tomato Sauce (Salsa Catalana)
- 5
- 6
Deglaze
If using, pour in the white wine and scrape up brown bits from the pan. Let the wine reduce by half, about 1–2 minutes.
- 7
Build the sauce
Stir in the tomato paste and smoked paprika and cook 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes (or canned tomatoes broken up by hand), sugar, bay leaf, and thyme or rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- 8
Simmer
Return the browned meatballs to the skillet nestling them into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover partly, and simmer gently for 18–22 minutes until meatballs are cooked through (internal temperature ~70°C/160°F) and sauce has thickened.
- 9
Adjust seasoning
Taste sauce and adjust salt, pepper, or a touch more sugar if the tomatoes are very acidic. Remove bay leaf and thyme/rosemary sprig before serving.
To Finish & Serve
- 10
Add manchego
Sprinkle the grated manchego over the hot meatballs and sauce. Cover the skillet for 2–3 minutes off the heat to allow the cheese to soften and melt slightly into the sauce. Alternatively, place under a hot broiler for 1–2 minutes to lightly brown the cheese (if using an ovenproof skillet).
- 11