Albondigas are delicious Spanish meatballs in a rich and smokey tomato sauce. A must at any tapas feast, but equally delicious served with pasta or potato.
In a large bowl, add 250 g Pork mince, 3 Garlic clove, 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper, 0.5 tablespoon Paprika, 0.5 teaspoon Chilli powder, 5 g Fresh parsley, 1 Egg and 70 g Breadcrumbs.
Mix well and then form in to 20 meatballs.
Add 1 tablespoon Olive oil to a large frying pan and then brown the meatballs on all sides (this will take about 5 minutes). Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Start the sauce by adding 1 tablespoon Olive oil to the pan and adding 2 Shallots and 3 Garlic cloves and gently cook for 2 minutes. Add 100 ml Red wine and then simmer for 2 minutes.
Add 400 g Chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika and 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper and simmer for 3 minutes.
Put the meatballs back in the pan with the sauce, mix well and simmer for 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
Notes
You can add some extra flavour and heat to the sauce by adding a little chilli powder to it. Add a little at a time to get the right spice level for you.
We used pork mince, but you could use beef or a mixture of the two.
Feel free to use store bought ready made meatballs or your favourite meatball recipe.
You can oven bake the meatballs, but they won't get the crispy edges and flavour you get from frying.
If you want to freeze this dish, you can either freeze the meatballs before they are cooked, or once they are in the sauce.