Spanish- style meatballs (18th Feb, 2009)

I made these last week as a special treat for Valentine´s Day as it´s one of my boyfriend´s favourite meals. It´s based on some blog recipes from La Cocina de Lala and La Cocina de Lechuza and what I can remember of the usual recipe I use in Spain from my recipe book, "1000 Mejores Recetas" so should be fairly authentic. Unfortunately, as you can see in the photo the meatballs didn´t retain their round shape and ended up a bit flat looking-more like a burger! However, the end result is moist, soft and tender meatballs.

Ingredients(for 2/3 people)

300g( just over 1/2 lb) of pork mince (it´s more authentic if you can buy pork and beef mince mixed)

1 slice of bread, crumbed (use 2 slices if bread is small or you can also use ready made breadcrumbs)

1/4 cup of milk (I used 1/2 cup and the mixture was too wet!)

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1tsp dried parsley

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper(optional)

1 egg

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup of white wine

2 tsps paprika

1/2 tsp flour

flour

2 tbsps olive oil

Method

1. Soak breadcrumbs in milk.

2.Mix pork mince, breadcrumbs, salt & pepper, parsley, garlic and egg in bowl. If meat mixture is very sticky, add a bit of flour to help bind.

3. Shape into balls, about 8 in total. Roll in flour.

4.Heat oil and fry meatballs till browned. Set aside.

5. Using oil left over from meatballs, fry onion until soft.

6. Add wine, paprika and flour and cook on medium to low heat till sauce thickens.

7. Replace meatballs and simmer until meatballs thouroughly cooked.

You can serve this with rice, pasta or fried potatoes whatever you prefer, the typical way Spanish people serve this is without any side dishes as this would be served as the first or main dish. Spanish meals usually consist of two large dishes. The first may be a soup, pasta, vegetable or fish dish usually followed by a meat or fish dish.