Week 45 - Spain

Just the one country this week, as it is a week that ends with a '0' or '5'. Spain, we love Spanish food; in particular Tapas. But, I have recently been sorting out lots of recipes collected from various magazines and I came across a Spanish meatball recipe, so I opted to do this one. It was enough for 8, so on the first day my husband and I had it with pasta and he scored it a 9, the only reason it didn't make a 10 was I had some Olives left over that I chucked it - and they were not part of the recipes and they are not his favourite. However, they added to the dish, in my humble opinion.

The left overs were had with small roasted pots, and a courgette and pepper tapas dish which is simply roasted veg in tomato sauce; sauce I used from the meatballs. All very tasty.





I am not sure how authentic these are, but they tasted as good as some we have had in Spain!

Albóndigas

Ingredients:
Meatballs:
85g Serrano ham
2 gloves of peeled garlic
50g white breadcrumbs
3tbsp milk
500g lean mince beef
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
large handful of chopped parsley (optional)
1 egg
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. olive oil

Sauce:
2 tbsp. olive oil
5 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 gloves garlic, peeled and crushed
large pinch chilli
2 x 400g tin of tomatoes
2 bay leaves
100ml white wine (optional)

To serve, chopped parsley

1. Pu the ham and garlic in a food processor and finely chop. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients, apart from the flour and oil and mix well.
2. Shape into about 36 meatballs, season flour with black pepper then roll the balls onto it. Heat the oil in a pan and fry some for a few minutes to ensure they are golden; put onto a plate and repeat until all of the meatballs are cooked.
3,. Meanwhile make the sauce, soften the shallots for 10mins in the oil. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and wine (if using) and cook for 10mins more.
4. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 15mins, until the sauce is thicker and the meatballs cooked.
Serve sprinkled with parsley, if you want.

Source: Co-op magazine