Albóndigas

Albóndigas

or Meatballs to us speakers of English.  This dish comes to me from my husband’s side of the family who are Spanish.  It is one of my mother-in-law’s signature dishes.  I love it because it is made with ground beef, but seems special anyways.  I always enjoy serving things in my house that are not the standard fare of most people around us.  Especially when the kids were small, I felt it bonded us and made us feel unique.  That aside, I still consider this in the group of comfort food.  I hope you give them a try.

Ingredients:  Serves 4

Meatballs

1lb of ground beef

1 clove of minced garlic

½ cup of fresh bread crumbs (1/4 cup of dried)

1 egg

½ cup of flour

1 tsp of salt

Oil for frying (I used olive oil)

Gravy

Pinch of saffron (ground turmeric can be substituted here)

Salt

Pepper

4 TBS of flour

4 TBS of oil (the oil the meatballs were fried in is good)

1 cup of hot water

1 cup of milk

Mix the ground beef, garlic, breadcrumbs, and the egg.

Let mixture sit for 1 hour if possible

Meanwhile, steep the saffron threads in 1 cup of hot water

Roll the meat into 1 1/2 inch meatballs

Roll in salted flour

Heat oil for frying and place meatballs in medium hot oil

Turn to brown all sides

Remove meatballs from the pan along with all but 4 TBS of oil

Add 4 TBS of flour to the oil

Stir and cook the flour for a few minutes

Add the water (saffron removed) and stir, then add the milk

Stir until gravy thickens

(I halved the gravy amount because only 2 were eating this meal)

Add the meatballs back in and if possible let simmer gently for about 30 minutes (sometimes my mother-in-law lets them sit on low for hours.) 

Enjoy!