Albondigas

One of the more famous Spanish recipes for me I feel are are Spanish meatballs, meatballs are served in all tapas bars as a snack or an appetizer. Spanish meatballs are also made as a main dish at home. Albóndigas are also always offered as the starter in the set menu (menú del día) which Spanish restaurants and bars are required to offer to customers. There are lots of recipies for Spanish meatballs and I think this one includes the best from most of them!

Ingredients(4 servings)

(For meatballs)

200g minced pork
200g minced beef
100g minced bacon
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
3 desertspoons soya sauce
2 desertspoons bread crumbs
1 tsp. of oregano
1 clove garlic
Olive oil

(For sauce)

2 small, ripe tomatoes
2 medium onions
2 garlic cloves
1 small glass of white wine
A little flour
Salt and pepper
1 Carrot
1 bayleaf
Tomato puré or tomate frito
Half a stock cube

Method

Mix the minced pork and beef with the minced bacon. Grate one onion and chop or crush garlic. Add the grated onion, chopped garlic, soya sauce, oregano, and breadcrumbs to the meat, and mix all ingredients together very very well.
Make small balls with the mixture - about the size of a golf ball. Coat them lightly in the flour (get a bowl, put some flour in and roll each ball around) and put all the balls on a large plate until you are ready to fry them.

Now make the sauce. Cut up the other onion and chop the rest of the garlic, and put them in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil, the fresh parsley and some salt and pepper. Fry gently until they are soft, and then blanch and peel the tomatoes(as in the Salmorejo recipe)cut out the cores, chop and add. Finally grate the carrot and add that too. Add the white wine, half a stock cube dissolved in half a cup of water, a bayleaf and a bit of tomato puré (or tomate frito if you live in Spain). Stir well and put on a low heat.
Put some olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, enough to cover the bottom of the pan, and fry the meatballs until they are brown all over. You don't have to use lots of oil - turn them over so that they cook on all sides. You will probably need to fry them in two or three batches, depending on the size of your frying pan. As each batch is ready, put the meatballs straight into the pan with the sauce, leave them to simmer in the sauce for about half an hour.
You can serve the meatballs on their own as a tapas dish, with a chunk of crusty baguette or as a main course accompanied by a mixed Spanish salad, the usual salad bits including green olives, asparagus and boiled eggs.
Or if you're like me, they are fantastic as a meatball sub. Mmmmm!