Albondigas (Spanish Meatballs) Two Ways - With Tomato Sauce or Almond Sauce (including Thermomix method)

It's everyone's favourite tapas dish, with a healthier twist!

Serves five as a main course from only 271 calories per serving, or ten to twelve as a tapas dish (113 to 136 calories per portion).

          

Albondigas is a very popular dish in Spain, found in many tapas bars. It is usually made of a mix of meats (commonly pork and veal originally, to stretch the veal further), but you can choose whether you mix your meats or just use solely pork or beef. I prefer to use both for the flavour.


The bread soaked in water (or you could use milk) and egg make for a soft and moist texture (essential in this version, which uses very lean meat) as well as making the mixture go further. Traditionally, the meatballs would have been rolled in plenty of flour, and shallow fried, but nowadays that step is skipped by some people, and here I have lightly grilled them (USA, cooked them under a broiler) to brown them before poaching, to keep them moist. It's amazingly effective at giving you a tender and juicy meatball, you'll be surprised!

Serves five as a main meal (or more as tapas), calories per serving as follows:

Meatballs                   205
Tomato sauce              66
Total calories           271
 

If you're counting calories, it is delicious served with your choice of a small amount of potatoes par-boiled and fried or oven-baked in a very small amount of olive oil (it’s easiest to use a pure olive oil spray, which is 4 calories per actuation, potatoes are 72 calories per 100g), rice (45g uncooked is approximately 50 calories), cauliflower rice (38 calories per 100g uncooked) and/or a generous helping of your favourite green vegetables, or other tapas dishes. Leftovers will also re-heat extremely well in a moderate oven, covered with foil, for about half an hour.

If you're not counting calories, feel free to use normal beef and pork mince, shallow fry the meatballs if you prefer, and slosh in an extra glug of olive oil when you make the sauce!

Albóndigas con Salsa de Tomate 

(Meatballs with a Tomato Sauce)
[Calories in square brackets]

Ingredients for the meatballs

• 250g extra lean minced pork (e.g. Sainsbury’s) [308*]
• 250g extra lean minced beef (e.g. Sainsbury’s) [308*]
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper [2]
• 100g white bread (preferably organic, slightly dense, gluten free works perfectly well), crusts cut off, torn into large pieces [237]
• 1 medium egg [88]
• 1 medium onion [41]
• 3 garlic cloves [18]
• Large handful fresh parsley [2]
• 1 level 5ml tsp salt, and freshly ground black pepper [1]
• 5 pure oil sprays, or scant ½ teaspoon oil [20]

For the tomato sauce

• 1 medium onion, finely diced (or quartered, see TM method in italics) (100g) [41]
• 1 tsp olive oil [45]
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped [12]
• 800g (2 tins) chopped tomatoes (skin first if using fresh) [200]
• 1 tsp sugar (optional) [16]
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper [1]
• 1 tbsp tomato puree [15]

For a spicy twist to the tomato sauce, add 2 tsp mild/sweet smoked paprika, and ¼ to ½ teaspoon (or more to taste!) red chilli powder or cayenne pepper 30 seconds before you add the tomatoes, and stir (add an extra 3 calories per portion).

Method
First start making the meatballs (see method in italics at the bottom of the page for Thermomix).

Soak the bread in water in a small bowl for 5-10 minutes while you chop/prepare the other ingredients for the meatballs and sauce.

Peel and coarsely grate the onion, peel and crush the garlic, and finely chop the parsley. Take a medium to large sized bowl and crack the egg into it and beat briefly with a fork. Add the onion, garlic, parsley and the seasoning (I like to use 1 level tsp salt, and plenty of black pepper) and mix together. Squeeze all off the water out of the bread, and mash/squeeze through your hands, rubbing it into bits into the egg mixture and stir in. Add the minced meat(s) and work into the mixture.

You may want to wear appropriate plastic gloves for the next part, because you need to mix it really thoroughly (not like when you make burgers), squeezing it through your fingers, and working it into almost a paste until it’s really well combined. It’s a very good idea to now take a small amount (say, a tsp) and either gently fry or grill (broil) it as a tiny pattie until cooked through, and taste it, to check for seasoning. (Adjust if necessary, and check again). Once you’re happy with it, turn your grill (broiler) to its highest setting to pre-heat, take a large metal tray (that will fit underneath your grill/broiler), line it with foil, and spray the oil over it (or pour on), lightly rubbing it across the foil with your fingertips to ensure it’s an even coating.

If you’re using plastic gloves, the meat mixture shouldn’t really stick to your hands, but if not, you may need to wet them. Roll the meat into balls the size of large walnuts (you could make them a little smaller if you're cooking this as one of several tapas dishes), and arrange on the tray, not touching each other. You should end up with around 20 to 25 balls (but a few more or less won’t matter).

Put the tray of meatballs under the grill, until just lightly browned on the top (you don’t want to cook them all the way through), then turn over and brown the other side. Depending on the strength of your grill (broiler), and the distance from it (I put mine quite high up/close, so that the dry heat browns the outside quickly, without cooking the middle) it could take 2-5 minutes each side – keep your eye on them! Once you’ve browned both sides, remove and set aside.

Meanwhile, make your sauce:

Take a large, non-stick, heavy-based pan (which you have a lid for) and put on a low heat on the hob. Add the teaspoon of olive oil and gently sauté the onions and the bay leaf for 10 minutes until they are completely softened and just starting to turn golden on the edges. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic, or it will make the dish taste bitter. (If you’re making the spicy version of the tomato sauce, add the paprika and chilli/cayenne at this point, and fry for another 30 seconds).

Add the tomatoes, ½ tsp salt, black pepper, sugar and tomato puree, turn up the heat to medium/high and cook for a further 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally until it has reduced a little and thickened. Taste a little of the sauce and season further if you think it needs extra.

Slide the meatballs in, turn the heat back down to low, make sure they’re reasonable evenly spaced and cover the pan.  Leave to simmer for 20 mintues, turning once, and then serve. Enjoy!

 
Albóndigas en Salsa con Picada de Almendras 

(Spanish Meatballs in an Almond Sauce)

Serves five as a main meal (or more as tapas), calories per serving as follows:

Meatballs                   205

Almond sauce           105

Total calories           310

Ingredients

One quantity meatballs, prepared and browned as above.

For the almond sauce

• 30g blanched almonds [194]
• 4 whole, peeled garlic cloves [24]
• 1 small slice white bread (gluten free is fine), crusts removed and torn into large pieces (20g) [47]
• 1 tbsp olive oil [130]
• 300ml chicken stock (e.g. made up from Touch of Taste) [15]
• 200ml dry white wine [80**]
• Pinch of saffron [1]
• Zest of one lemon [3]
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper [1]
• 2 teaspoons sugar [32]

Method

In a large, wide saucepan (which has a lid) bring the stock and wine to the boil while you’re browning your meatballs (see recipe above). Add the saffron, lemon zest, seasoning and sugar, stir to dissolve, turn the heat down to low and cover.

Then make your ‘picada’ (a flavoured paste used to thicken the sauce). Take a small, non-stick frying pan, and fry the almonds, bread and whole garlic cloves gently until lightly browned (be careful not to burn any of them). Remove from the heat, and carefully tip into a small food processor (or you could do this in a pestle and mortar, the traditional way). Allow to cool for a few minutes, then blend/grind to a paste and a little of the stock from the pan to loosen it, then add the loosened paste to the stock and stir in.

Gently slide the meatballs into the sauce, cover, and simmer over a very low heat for twenty minutes, then serve.

Notes

*Be sure to check the nutritional information of the minced meat you choose, as it will vary greatly depending on fat content. The ‘extra lean’ minced meats I used (from Sainsbury’s) were both 123 calories per 100g. If you use different (e.g. lean instead of extra lean), be sure to re-calculate your calories. E.g. for 500g lean mince at 183 calories per 100g, you would need to add an extra 60 calories per portion).

**Wine calorie calculation: 130 total calories, minus 46 calories of non-alcoholic content (=84), reduced to 40% from simmering time (=33.6), and added back to non-alcoholic calories (46), equals 80 calories rounded up. http://homecooking.about.com/od/alcohol/a/alcoholsub.htm

Thermomix method
 
To make the meatballs - soak the bread in water in a small bowl for 5-10 minutes. Turn on the TM to Speed 8 and drop the peeled garlic cloves and parsley onto the running blades. Peel and cut the onion into quarters, and drop the onion onto running blades, Speed 5, then turn off, scrape down the sides and chop Speed 5 / 5 seconds.

Add the egg, salt and pepper (I like to use 1 level tsp salt, but you can cut this down to taste if you don't usually add salt to cooking) and squeeze all off the water out of the bread, and mash/squeeze through your hands into the bowl. Scrape down the sides again, and mix Speed 6 / 10 seconds.

Add the meat, and mix for 15 seconds / Speed 5, stirring with the spatula through the hole in the TM lid. Open the lid and check that it looks evenly mixed, if not repeat, and then it is ready to roll into balls. Remove the meat (unless you have a second TM bowl, in which case change them over) and set aside and wash out the bowl to make the tomato sauce in and get it simmering while you roll and grill the meatballs.

To make the tomato sauce - Drop the peeled garlic onto running blades, Speed 8. Turn down to speed 5 and drop the peeled, quartered onion onto the running blades. Scrape down, add the tsp of olive oil and the bay leaf, and cook 10 minutes / 100C / Speed 1, MC off.

While the onions and garlic are cooking, start rolling your meatballs. It’s a very good idea if it's the first time you're making these to now take a small amount (say, a tsp) and either gently fry or grill (broil) it as a tiny pattie until cooked through, and taste it, to check for seasoning. (Adjust if necessary, and check again). Once you’re happy with it, turn your grill (broiler) to its highest setting to pre-heat, take a large metal tray (that will fit underneath your grill/broiler), line it with foil, and spray the oil over it (or pour on), lightly rubbing it across the foil with your fingertips to ensure it’s an even coating.

If you’re using plastic gloves, the meat mixture shouldn’t really stick to your hands, but if not, you may need to wet them. Roll the meat into balls the size of large walnuts (you could make them a little smaller if you're cooking this as one of several tapas dishes), and arrange on the tray, not touching each other. You should end up with around 20 to 25 balls (but a few more or less won’t matter). Set aside.

When the onions and garlic finish cooking, add all of the other ingredients for the tomato sauce, and cook with the MC at an angle to prevent the sauce spitting (you can also insert the internal steaming basket to prevent this, if you want to) and cook for 15 minutes / Varoma Temperature / Speed Spoon / Reverse Blade Direction.

While your tomato sauce is cooking, put the meatballs under a high grill (USA broiler), turning once they're lightly browned on each side and cooked all the way through (you may need to rotate the tray once to make sure they cook evenly.

Serve the meatballs with the sauce poured over them. If you want to cook rice or pasta etc. in the TM to serve with them, they will happily keep warm and moist in the sauce, in a covered ovenproof dish in a low oven, and they also freeze and re-heat really well.