From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Folks who have followed One Perfect Bite from its inception, know that I do some unusual testing at this time of year. I tackle bookmarked recipes and untried holiday desserts in February and March because that's when I finally have time for testing and sorting through them. I also try to create a backlog of dishes that can be used when we're traveling or my family is visiting. I must be honest and tell you that I never dreamed this recipe would make it to the final cut. It was tested because our older grandsons love meatballs and I was looking for a recipe that would fill the bottomless pits we've come to call their stomachs. Bob made the first call and insisted I sit down and try them with him. Between the two of us we finished half the recipe. These are really nice. While you probably won't request them for your final meal, they make for wonderful family eating and add a little spice to an ordinary meatball dinner. The recipe was developed by Martha Stewart and I have no hesitation in recommending it to you. The heat in the recipe comes from chipotle chiles. If you use both of the recommended chiles, you will have pleasantly, but distinctively, hot meatballs. If that is more than you dare to chance, use just one. The meatballs can be made two days before serving and slowly rewarmed. They can be served over rice for a meal, but if made smaller they would also make a wonderful tapas-style appetizer. I know you'll like these. Here's the recipe.
Albondigas - Pork Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds ground pork
1 medium onion, coarsely grated and squeezed firmly to remove excess liquid
1 small zucchini, coarsely grated and squeezed firmly to remove excess liquid
1 large egg
1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with juice
1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Cooked rice and chopped fresh cilantro, for serving (optional)
Directions:
1) In a medium bowl, combine pork, onion, zucchini, egg, breadcrumbs, oregano, cumin, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; mix well with a fork. Form into 16 (2-inch) balls; transfer to a plate, and place in freezer until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and chiles in a blender; process until smooth, and set aside.
3) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the meatballs; cook until brown, turning often, 4 to 5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining oil and meatballs.
4) Reduce heat to medium-low. Add pureed sauce and return all meatballs to skillet. Cover; simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Uncover, and simmer until sauce is thickened, 5 to 10 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice, sprinkled with cilantro, as desired. Yield: 4 to 5 servings.
You might also enjoy these recipes:
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Turkey-Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze - The Heritage Cook
Swedish Meatballs - Felice in the Kitchen
Polpette (Meatballs) - Bell'Alimento
German Meatballs - The Runaway Spoon
Pineapple Glazed Ham Meatballs - Simply Recipes
Thai Meatballs - Food and Whine
Italian Style Turkey Meatballs - My Kitchen Adventures
Slow Cooker Mexican Meatballs - Farmgirl Gourmet
Swedish Meatballs - The Galley Gourmet
Porcupine Meatballs - The Daily Dish
Turkey Meatballs with Lemon-Garlic Yogurt Sauce - One Perfect Bite
Swedish Meatballs - One Perfect Bite
Polpettine - Tuscan Meatballs - One Perfect Bite
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Albondigas: Spanish Meatballs in Tomato Sauce - One Perfect Bite
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Oh I like the fact that there is zucchini in them! My husband is a huge fan of meatballs and while I usually find them kind of blah I think I might really get into this recipe!
ReplyDeleteOh how I would love to dig into that plate! I used to make meatballs with this name, but they had rice in them.
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to make albondigas and somehow never did! Your post is motivating me now to take the step and do it! Lovely photo!
ReplyDeleteThese look great! Everyone loves meatballs, I have yet to know anyone who doesn't! Bookmarking this, thank you for sharing, Mary! Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteMary....how do you post such wonderful recipes all of the time? they all look so delicious!! I always look forward to them!!!
ReplyDeleteWaooooo.... This looks yum. I will definitely try out the recipe.
ReplyDeletevery delicious and so goodlooking!yummy!
ReplyDeleteSpicy meatballs! Now that sounds good to me!
ReplyDeleteyou have an award waiting for you at www.duncaninkuantan.blogspot.com. You will find the Stylish Blogger Award image on the 'About Me' page.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a nice, honest, ordinary meal is what every family needs! They are exactly that Mary!
ReplyDeleteI guess sometimes recipes have a way of pleasantly surprising you. The meatballs look delicious, as of most of martha's recipes! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, brilliant picture! Loved the platter and the dish looks tempting (though we don't eat pork). Everything looks perfect!
ReplyDeleteThere is something about men and meatballs. All of my men love them. I am very lukewarm about the idea of having them, while the guys are always are most excited! I think the chipotle in these might pique my own interest! And, if my little grandson likes meatballs like his dad and Pop Pop, his Noni will be LOVING meatballs! Good to have a recipe I may like as well as them. ;)
ReplyDeleteBlessings~ Tanna
Your first line in this post made me wonder ~ how long have you been blogging.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your hard work and experimenting to bring us such great recipes. Those lucky grandsons.
Fondly,
Glenda
oh that sauce sounds incredible - my husband would love it!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Tanna---meatballs are a big blip on a guy's radar screen. I love 'em but Cindy is lukewarm to 'em. I like mine with jalapenos, but yours sound good with the spiciness. Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great Mary! I only have to pick up the pork:@)
ReplyDeleteOoh, I see my meatballs in the list. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLoving your albondigas so much!
Chipotles in adobo make most things better - these look delicious.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good dish! Meatballs are always welcome in my house:)
ReplyDeleteMary, These look so Yummy good! I just love using ground pork. It has so much flavor. I might just crank the heat down a little, for me. This will cetainly be on StoneGable's menu!
ReplyDeleteAs always you always bring the best to the blog!
Yvonne
Who doesn't like a nice meatball? The chipotle and zucchini are inspired additions.
ReplyDeleteThough I dont eat pork, Im drooling for these balls, they look so tempting!
ReplyDeleteGround pork rarely makes its way into my home, but I have a feeling we'd enjoy these. The zucchini in the meatball and the chipotle sauce certainally elevate them from your standard meatball.
ReplyDeleteMary, your picture makes me want to have a bite of a meatball right now, and swirl the rice into the sauce! It looks so good!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to sneak in vegetables to a family favorite (and a great use for left over adobo sauce). It also seems like this recipe would be pretty flexible for changing out ingredients. Thank you for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThese sound wonderful, Mary. And I have some wonderful ground pork in the freezer - will have to give them a try.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend,
ButterYum
Another dish that is right up my alley! I know I would love this. Blessings, Catherine
ReplyDeleteI just recently rediscovered my love for chipotle sauce and this sounds wonderful! I will have to try it soon -- my husband will love you for this recipe :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Your pork meatballs look really good, Mary! I'm curious about the freezing step....does that help to keep the meatballs more round as you cook them?
ReplyDeleteYou always make me so hungry Mary. This time however, you have just toppled my resistance. I want a huge bowl of your meatballs ASAP!
ReplyDeleteLove the addition of zucchini. How cool is that!
Thank you so much for sharing...
Well Mary, you've certainly given this an A#1 recommendation! The recipe looks marvelous, too; Martha is usually spot on.
ReplyDeleteYour presentation in the lovely dish is perfect!
But then, I've always thought your blog title matched everything I find here! :) Love visiting you.
These looks delicious mary!I love meatballs !Thanks for sharing, have a lovely weekend....a hug
ReplyDeleteClever idea to put zucchini in meat. I will use it next time when my husband asks for meatballs. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI love it when I end up pleasantly surprised by a recipe. These sound quite delicious! The smoky heat of the chipotles sounds addictive.
ReplyDeleteI love it when I try a recipe and end up surprised by how well it turns out. :) These sound quite good - the zucchini intrigues me as well. I tried a new meatball recipe over the holidays from Paula Deen's magazine and they were quite delicious. Everyone liked them so much at Christmas, they asked me to make them again at New Year's. Those were appetizer meatballs, though. I'll have to try these, too.
ReplyDeleteThese look so flavourful Mary. They would be lovely presented in many different ways.
ReplyDeleteoh my god, this is my perfect dinner!
ReplyDeletei love it!
Have a nice evening, Barbara
Mary, these look great. I love the pretty plate too. If you get a chance, please stop by my blog. I am having a giveaway. Have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeletehttp://sweetkatskitchen.blogspot.com/
I'm becoming more and more of a fan of chipotle peppers. I'll give meatball a try. Thanks Mary.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment!
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for meatballs, and these look delicious. I think they'd go great in a meatball sandwich, which I'm going to go tackle now!
Dear Mary, Thank you for your birthday wishes. You make everything I like! These meatballs look great. Thanks for the secret. I will try it when I see a recipe I would like to try. Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings, Catherine xo
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting idea to freeze the meatballs to firm them up before cooking! The meatballs look great, and this plate goes really well with the Mexican flavors!
ReplyDeleteThe tomato chipotle sauce sounds delicious, both with these meatballs as well as with other dishes. Thank you, Mary!
ReplyDeleteOH my Mary your header photo makes my mouth water but these pork meatballs just sound scrumptious! Think I will try them on my crowd THIS week!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
These sound so flavorful! I'm a big chipotle/adobo fan!
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this recipe! One of the restaurants in Chicago, Nueva Leon, makes the best albondigas, but they only sell it on Tuesdays. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI really like all of the veggies in this recipe! It's fun to take a familiar food and do something different.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my fav dish.. I love pork meat balls :)
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only person who served meatballs with rice. Glad to see I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteI would love to try the sauce. Something different from the common flavour. Thanks again. Have a good day.
ReplyDeleteKristy
I am always looking for meatball ideas and will have to add chipotle chillies to my list of shopping I am going to give to my mom when she is in the US at the end of the year :)
ReplyDeleteYou had me at chipotle, Mary!! I would never demand anything, but I really really want that right now!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI made these and posted about them in my "Your Recipe My Kitchen" post today. Stop by and check it out. And I apologize for the terrible picture I took of this delish dish ;)
ReplyDeleteDanielle
I finally made these tonight (as written). Excellent! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
ReplyDelete