Albondigas with Chipotle Adobo Ketchup Glaze

As far as food goes, Mexico and Spain don't share all that much. When I discovered something they had in common, I couldn't wait to share it with you for Tapas month on foodies plus. What are albondigas? They are made of beef and pork combined. In Mexico they are served as a soup in broth and in Spain as Tapas, or bite sized foods. My version is meant to be consumed as a Spanish style Tapa, but has the spice typical of Mexican style meatballs; the way these meatballs are seasoned is inspired by Mexican cuisine.

What makes a perfect meatball? In my opinion a perfect meatball would be moist, tender and have a great balance of flavor. These meatballs deliver all that and a crunchy exterior. They are perfect topped with the spicy, acidic glaze and garnished with manchego shavings. Ordinarily I use milk-soaked bread crumbs to achieve a tender meatball, but I wanted a Mexican twist so I decided to use cornbread in the meatballs. I made a fresh cornbread the day before, but as long as you toast the bread on a low heat to make it stale it can be made the day of, or purchased in a store. If you can’t get hold of cornbread and you don’t have the ingredients to make some, substitute the same amount of corn muffin. The sweetness of the cornbread is a fantastic compliment to spicy, tart and smoky chipotle adobo glaze.

Other than milk soaked bread the key to a perfectly tender meatball is to handle with care. The more delicate you can be and the less you handle the meatball mix and its individual ingredients, the more tender they will turn out.

The best thing about these meatballs is that they’re fairly easy to make and yet they are impressive and taste delicious.

If you don’t prefer frying them you can braise them in the glaze by adding more liquid or bake them.

Albondigas with Chipotle Adobo Ketchup Glaze

Makes approx 40 mini meatballs

Meatballs:

1 lb. minced chuck
8 ounces minced pork
2 Tablespoons chipotles in adobo*
1 cup cornbread crumbs
2/3 cup milk
1 large egg
salt, to taste
pepper to taste
canola oil, for frying

Measure cornbread crumbs into a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, bring milk to a simmer. Pour over cornbread crumbs and stir gently. Combine thoroughly.
Allow bread crumb mixture to cool. Add all other meatball ingredients. Mix with hands gently. Combine thoroughly.
Roll the meatball mixture into 1” round balls, handling delicately.
Cover the bottom of a large saucepan in about 1” canola oil (or any neutral oil). Bring oil to medium low heat. Lay meatballs in a single layer with room in between (you may have to cook the meatballs in a couple of batches). Fry without touching for about 4 minutes.
Flip meatballs over and fry for an additional 4 minutes, or until they’re cooked through.
Brush with glaze (see recipe below) and serve with small forks or toothpicks.

Glaze:

2 teaspoons paste of chipotles in adobo*
3/4 cup low sodium beef broth
3/4 cup tomato paste

Bring stock to a simmer in a small saucepan over low heat.
Whisk in all other ingredients.
Cook for 5 minutes, to allow flavors to marry.
Brush onto meatballs


*grind the entire can into a wet paste and freeze the rest in an ice cube tray for later use

Tapas Recipes: Tortilla Española with Ají Amarillo

When you're making and serving tapas at home, a single tapas recipe or dish is made large and meant to be shared in small bites. And since tapas means small bites the confines of the idea are pretty much endless, from a creative standpoint.

I am so thrilled to be bringing you my own small bite; my twist on a classic: Tortilla Española with Ají Amarillo paste. A tortilla in the Americas usually means a very flat bread made with stone ground corn flour (masa) or wheat flour, and fried on a griddle. This type of tortilla is a wrap or vessel for delicious stuffing. A tortilla in Spain, at least a “Spanish style tortilla” is an entirely different thing. It is a light, fluffy omelet/thin egg pie that is often studded with cubed potatoes and will sometimes also include sauteed onions. I kept the dish to more or less the same formula, but I thought it would make for an interesting variation to fill the tortilla with spicy potatoes and caramelized onions. I topped it with minced green olives and a skewered slice of Bresaola (the closest thing I could find to Serrano Ham at my regular market; it seems like the beef equivalent of Serrano Ham). The combination of fluffy, spicy omelet with earthy potatoes, the richly nuanced musk of dry cured meat and briny olives was just perfect. Not to mention this dish is incredibly photogenic. Tortilla Española would probably be best enjoyed with a dry white wine. Don’t let me tell you what to drink, however; you do you. That’s the way I like it.

Learning how to make a Tortilla Española is a good tool to have in your culinary arsenal, especially if you have an interest in tapas, and/or enjoy entertaining. My method of cooking was adapted from a great little coffee table book I picked up awhile ago, Tapas Made Easy. The right equipment is very important, as I learned the hard way the first time I attempted this dish and it stuck completely to the inside of my enameled cast iron saucepan. A good ceramic nonstick pan is what’s needed. If you don’t have one you could bake your tortilla at 375 for 6 - 9 minutes (until top turns golden). This is supposed to be served cold and is much easier to portion out after it has completely cooled.

Tortilla Española

Makes 16 tapas

2 small potatoes, any variety
1/2 medium yellow onion, julienned
4 eggs
1 clove garlic
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Ají Amarillo paste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

For Garnish (optional, but highly recommended):
4 pitted Manzanilla olives, diced finely (you’ll serve only about ¼ olive per portion of tortilla)
1/3 lb sliced Serrano Ham or Bresaola (16 slices total, one for each serving)

Parboil the potatoes whole in their skin for about 10 minutes, depending on the size. You want them just shy of cooked. Transfer to your cutting board to cool, then dice up into about a 1/2 inch dice.
Heat a medium sized nonstick pan to medium heat and add ½ of the olive oil. To the pan add onions and saute for 2 -3 minutes. Add potatoes.
Stir to coat and saute for about 7 minutes. Add Ají paste and saute for another 3 or so minutes, until potatoes are fully cooked. Set cooked onions and potatoes into a sieve to cool and drain off excess oil.
As potatoes cool whisk together eggs and grate the garlic into the eggs. When onions and potatoes have cooled, add them to the egg mixture.
Bring the heat up to high in the same non-stick pan and add remaining olive oil.
Poor in egg/potato.onion mixture and cooked for 2 minutes. Flip omelet and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer to cutting board.
Cut into squares and enjoy. This will make about 16 small servings.