Albóndigas (Spanish meatballs in tomato sauce)

Tapas-bar meatballs simmered in tomato sauce, made juicy with a panade of bread soaked in milk. In Andalusia you will find them in almond sauce; this is the everyday tomato version.

Ingredients

• 500 g minced beef and pork (half and half)
• 60 g breadcrumbs soaked in 100 ml milk
• 1 egg, 2 garlic cloves, chopped parsley, salt, pepper
• Flour for dusting, olive oil for frying
• For the sauce: 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, 400 g crushed tomato, 1 tsp sweet pimentón, 100 ml white wine, a pinch of sugar, salt

Method

1. Mix the meat with the soaked bread, egg, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Rest 30 minutes in the fridge, then shape into balls the size of a walnut.
2. Dust with flour and brown in olive oil in batches; they do not need to cook through. Set aside.
3. In the same oil, soften the onion for 10 minutes, add the garlic and pimentón, then the wine; let it reduce. Add the tomato, sugar and salt and simmer 10 minutes.
4. Return the meatballs to the sauce and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Serve in a cazuela with bread for the sauce.

Tips

• The milk-soaked bread is what keeps them tender; do not skip it.
• They are even better the next day.