Summary

Ingredients

• 1 large onion (s)
• 1 medium chilli pepper (s), more or less to taste
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon, heaped sugar
• 2 small bay leaves
• 2 sprigs rosemary, fresh
• 1 bottle red wine, dry, e.g., Rioja
• 400 g tomato (s), sieved, - 500 ml
• 1 red pepper (s)
• 2 teaspoon beef broth, instant powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika powder, noble sweet
• 1 pinch (s) cumin

For the meatballs:

• 400 g round beef or mixed
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon marjoram
• 1 tablespoon, heaped oregano
• 1 teaspoon mustard, medium hot
• Salt and pepper from the mill
• 1 teaspoon, heaped paprika powder, noble sweet
• 1 teaspoon, heaped paprika, hot pink
• 1 pinch (s) cumin
• 1 egg (s)
• Breadcrumbs or a stale bun, soaked and squeezed out well

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Instructions

1. Albondigas should not be missing in any Spanish tapas bar. Small, tasty meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce. THE original recipe doesn`t actually exist - depending on the region, everyone has their own house recipe that they swear by. So here is my version.
2. Finely dice the onion. Core the chilli pepper and cut very finely. Remove the inner germ from a clove of garlic and chop finely. Sauté everything in a small saucepan in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, caramelize lightly with the sugar and deglaze with a good dash of red wine (approx. 200 ml).
3. Fill a tea infuser with the bay leaves and rosemary sprigs, close and hang in it. This stays in the sauce until the end of the cooking time and is only removed just before serving.
4. Let the red wine boil down with the lid open until there is almost no liquid in the pot, stirring occasionally.
5. In the meantime, remove the seeds from the pepper and cut into cubes approx. 5 x 5 mm. Well suited are e.g., red pointed peppers, which do not have such a hard shell as e.g., Sweet peppers.
6. When the wine has almost boiled down, put half of the onion, chilli and garlic mixture infused with red wine in a bowl and allow to cool a little.
7. Put the tomatoes (100 ml more or less does not matter), the diced paprika, the beef stock powder, the paprika powder and a little cumin as well as a good dash of red wine to the remaining onions in the pot and everything for about 20 minutes on a milder Let the heat simmer. Always pour in some more wine. Use the cumin really sparingly; if you take too much, the food smells and tastes like old sweat
8. While the sauce is simmering, the meatballs are produced.
9. Add the minced meat to the red wine onions that have cooled down in the meantime, finely chop a clove of garlic and add with marjoram, oregano, mustard, salt, pepper, paprika powder, a touch of cumin, egg and breadcrumbs. Knead everything very well for about 10 minutes.
10. Fry a small sample and, if necessary, refine it with more marjoram, oregano or the other spices. The dough should be well connected and no longer stick excessively to the hands; I like to wear disposable gloves during preparation.
11. After the taste test, shape the dough into balls approx. 2 x 2 cm with moistened hands. Carefully place this in a coated pan, close the lid and turn down on medium heat. After a few minutes, turn carefully, let fry with the lid on and deglaze with a good dash of red wine. First fry with the lid closed and then with the lid open, turning the balls carefully. When the wine has almost boiled down, add the sauce and simmer over a mild heat for about 10 minutes.
12. The dish is enough with fresh baguette or ciabatta and a little salad for 2 - 3 people as a main course, in combination with other tapas or antipasti, 4 - 6 people are easily satisfied. Leftovers are also good for freezing or for the next day as a pasta sauce.