Albondigas
Albondigas is a real tapas favourite of ours. We’ve been lucky enough to eat in some amazing places, whether they were on dinghy sailing holidays on the Mar Menor or in San Sebastien, the home of pinxos while travelling Europe in our camper van.
Typically these are served in a small earthenware pot with a simple tomato sauce over the meatballs. We love them with a little more sauce and served with a simple pasta as a main course.
Cooking surfaces
BBQ Temperature
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1/2 lb or 250g minced beef
- 1/2 lb or 250g minced pork
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 6 tbsp milk
- Salt and pepper to season
For the sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1/2 – 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 dried cayenne chilli peppers
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp honey
- Salt and pepper to season
Method
- Take your breadcrumbs and soak them in just enough milk to cover them.
- Into a bowl, place all of the other meatballs ingredients and add the soaked breadcrumbs.
- Chill the mixture for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Now form the mixture into small meatballs, about 1.5″ in diameter (a bit smaller than a golf ball).
- Place them on a plate as you make them.
- Setup your EGG for a direct cook with just the stainless steel grid and a cast iron pan. Set the EGG to 180°C.
- Drizzle in a couple of tablespoons or olive oil and add your meatballs. You want to brown them off before you start the sauce.
- Once browned add the garlic and fry for about a minute.
- Now add the tomato puree and the red wine. Cook for a further minute.
- You can now add all the other ingredients, mix together and allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.