Spanish meatballs (albóndigas) in tomato sauce
Garlicky smoked-paprika meatballs simmered in a tomato and white wine sauce, with crusty bread for mopping up every drop.
- 55 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.55 a serving
- 730 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, divided
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 French bread, sliced
From your pantry
- 2 tsp smoked paprika, divided
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 730 calories, 38 g protein, 77 g carbs and 28 g fat, and costs about $3.55 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No French bread? Sourdough bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Stir the panko into the milk in a large bowl and let it soak 5 minutes.
Timer: 5 min
Add the beef, egg, half the garlic, 2 tablespoons parsley, 1 teaspoon paprika, ¾ teaspoon salt and the pepper. Mix gently with your hands and roll into 1¼-inch balls.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large, deep over medium-high.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heat
Brown the meatballs 5 to 6 minutes, turning them, until all over.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: They don’t need to be cooked through yet. They finish in the sauce.Move them to a plate.
Turn the heat to medium, add the onion to the pan, and cook 5 minutes, stirring, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Stir in the rest of the garlic and paprika for 30 seconds, then pour in the wine and let it bubble 2 minutes, .
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Stir in the crushed tomatoes and remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and bring to a gentle bubble.
Medium heat
Return the meatballs, cover, turn the heat to low, and 15 minutes, until the sauce and the meatballs read 160°F.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Scatter the rest of the parsley over the top and serve with the bread for dipping.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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