MEATBALLS WITH GRAVY (ALBONDIGAS EN SALSA) #englisrecipes

Getting ready for Christmas ? This is a recipe you could prepare to surprise your guests when they arrive. It is a great recipe to cook and serve as a starter, Meatballs (albóndigas de carne) with Gravy, accompanied by some old fashioned French Fries.  Another great way to accompany the meatballs is with boiled basmati rice and refried with garlic and boiled potatoes, or a nice rice salad, etc.

We really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do ! have a great week !

INGREDIENTS:

- MEATBALLS: 
* 1 ¼ lb. (1/2 kg) mixed ground meat, equal portions of ground veal and pork
* 1/2 White Onion, diced
* 1 Clove of Garlic, diced
* 2 Eggs
* Chopped Parsley
* Crumb (Soft inner part) of ½ Vienna Sized Bread Loaf, soaked in milk
* 1/3 cup (50 gr.) Bread Crumbs
* 1 tea spoon dried Marjoram
* Black Pepper and Salt
* All Purpose Flour
* Mild Olive Oil

- GRAVY:
* 1/2 White Onion, finely diced
* 1 Clove of Garlic finely diced
* 2 Tbsp Wheat Flour
* A few threads Saffron or food coloring
* 2 Bay Leaves
* 1 Glass White Wine (Fino de Jerez)
* 1 Cup Water

DIRECTIONS:

- FOR THE MEATBALLS:

* In a bowl, add the ground meat, garlic, diced onion, diced parsley, 2 eggs, marjoram, milk-soaked white of ½ loaf of Vienna sized bread, salt, pepper and the bread crumbs. Mix well and refrigerate. 

- Food Tip: It’s better if you prepare the meatball mixture the night before you want to cook them.  Just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the next day.  Then the spice mixture will have imparted its full flavor throughout the meatballs.

* Remove from the refrigerator, form the meatballs with your hands and roll them on a plate with the flour  

* Add enough oil into a frying pan so the meatballs will be about 1/3 of the way immersed, heat the oil med to med-high heat, then brown the meatballs uniformly, remove and drain on paper towels

* Set aside.

- FOR THE GRAVY:

* Add 2-3 Tbsp of oil (from the oil used to fry the meatballs) to a skillet, heat to med to med-high and start to sauté  the garlic, onion, 2 Tbsp of flour, stirring well to prevent lumps.  

* Add the wine, the saffron (or coloring), the bay leaves and continue to stir.  If the mixture is too thick, add water, a Tbsp at a time, and continue to stir until smooth.

- Food Tip: If you encounter lumps in your gravy that you weren’t able to remove, blend your gravy with a hand-held blender after cooking.

* Then, once the gravy has reached a bubbly boil, add the meatballs and continue to cook on low to medium heat for ten minutes.

Serving Tip:
* Using the oil used to brown the meatballs, fry French-fry cut potatoes that you can serve alongside the meatballs.

Enjoy!