Albondigas basically means meatballs in Spanish. And they were introduced to latin america during the Spanish conquest. Naturally, there are many different Albondigas from Mexico to Colombia, and from Venezuela to Argentina. There are 2 popular Mexican versions of this dish. One in soup and one in tomato sauce. We will only post the recipe for the one in tomato sauce as we have not experimented with the one in soup yet.
Mexican-Style Albondigas
Ingredients For Meatballs:
- 500g frozen minced beef, thawed
- 500g frozen minced pork, thawed
- 1 1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs (the western, not japanese one)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Ingredients For Sauce:
- 2 cans plain, canned tomatoes in juice (about 423g each)
- 1/2 cup pickled jalapeño peppers, drained
- 2 large white onions, finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus extra for greasing
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2 cups hot water mixed with 2 tablespoons chicken stock powder (Knorr is the preferred brand)
- salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to its maximum. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and lightly grease it with vegetable oil. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the meatballs until mixture is well combined. Roll about 1 tablespoon worth of mixture into a ball and place onto baking tray. Continue with this process untill all the mixture has been used up. Make sure the meatballs are spaced well apart. Reduce heat to 180 deg celcius on 'top heat' mode and place meatballs in oven. Allow to grill for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and brown at the top. Meanwhile, pulse the canned tomatoes and jalapeños in a blender or food processor until well-blended. In a large, deep-dished pan, fry the onions and garlic in the vegetable oil under medium-low heat until onions are soft. Take care not to burn the garlic. Add cumin powder and fry for another few minutes until fragrant. Add the tomato mixture and water mixed with stock powder. Bring to the boil and mix well. Remove from heat, sample the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. When meatballs are cooked, remove from oven and transfer to a plate. Pour away all the liquid that has been 'excreted' onto the baking dish. Add meatballs slowly to the saucepan, taking care not to break them and bring back to the boil again, basting the meatballs in the sauce. Remove from heat and serve.
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