Mediterranean Cuisine Ideas and recipes Albondigas Spanish meatballs special exquisite appetising meals try now

Difficult to find recipe in amongst all those adverts.

However when I did find it - what is “Grated Abuelita Chocolate” 

Presumably you’ve made it  to recommend the recipe  so where did you buy it from please?

I don’t normally put chocolate in my meatballs, but I’ll try anything once.

Lynn

A long response but here goes. We had these at a tapas bar in Altea and they were marvellous so I looked up a recipe and made a couple of changes. Not tried them with chocolate, though.

Albondigas. Spanish meatballs in tomato sauce.

Normally eaten as tapas, these are small meatballs but can be made bigger if you fancy them for a big meal with some type of pasta. Just increase the cooking time for the size.
The Spanish eat their evening meal far later than us, sometimes around 10pm. They therefore need something around 6 or 7 to keep them going, hence the reason for tapas.

For the meatballs, any type of pork, beef or chicken mince although I find the chicken ones don't bind very well. Beef mince is the best.

Put the beef into a bowl and add a clove of crushed garlic, a dessert spoon of grated cheese (cheddar will do), and some parsley. You can add salt and pepper to taste but I prefer Maggi. One beaten egg and a dessert spoon of olive oil and stir round. It will look a little runny. Add a couple of dessert spoons of breadcrumbs to bind the mixture together.
Roll the mixture into small (about an inch across) meatballs or larger if for a main meal.
Put the rolled meatballs on a plate and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

For the sauce, a medium sized onion, 2 cloves of garlic, two large tomatoes, tomato puree, oregano and a cup of white wine.

Fry the onions and the garlic in olive oil until soft. Peel the tomatoes (score the skin and run boiling water over them makes them easier to peel).
Chop the tomatoes in small squares and add them to the onions, stir well and lower the heat a bit. A dessert spoon of tomato puree and mix well. Add the wine and leave until the alcohol has burnt off (you can smell when that happens). Leave to simmer and make sure the tomatoes have gone to a nice, paste constituency for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped oregano.

Put the sauce into an oven dish.
In a frying pan, heat a little olive oil. Fry the meatballs until browned on all sides. No need to cook them fully as they will be going into the oven.

Once brown, put them on the sauce bed in the oven dish and spoon some of the tomato sauce over each one.. Cook in the over on 170C for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Either eat them as tapas with some crusty bread or serve over pasta for a main meal. Also nice with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese over them.

This recipe came from my step-mom in Canada. I can remember having eaten it only the once. But I was told that one could use any other kind of chocolate powder..

Abuelita is a chocolate tablet, syrup, or powdered mix in individual packets, made by Nestlé and used to make Mexican-style hot chocolate.

it’s the addition of chocolate that has got me intrigued, so presumably being Mexican it’s a really bitter chocolate that your adding, not the sweeter plain or milk chocolate that we’re used to eating.

Once I can find the right chocolate I might just have a go, even though I’m not  really a chocolate lover.

Best meatballs in the area are served at O Briens in El Raso 

Lynn

I've had mole (pronounce moh lay) in Mexico which is dark chocolate and chilis. Used as dipping sauce for several dishes. They dip chicken in it as well as tacos and burritos. 

Not so sure on albondigas but they also serve mole with tomatoes as well.

Makes a change from beans on toast.

I have a very old Spanish recipe for steak, which has a sauce basically made from a simple red wine reduction sauce with the addition of chocolate. It acts as a flavour enhancer, adding a subtle richness to the sauce. I have also used it in Chilli con Carne which I do not make with mince, but stewing steak, it works very well.

Yes, one uses ‘proper’ Chocolate, not the pretend milk laden stuff we call chocolate in UK! Valor works well, as also using it in ‘ cocoa’ form, of which I have a drum used for cakes now and then, but not the ‘drinking chocolate’ which is thickened with rice flour and contains sugar.