Albondigas is the Spanish word for meatballs and there are several albondiga dishes in Spain and Mexico. Back home, my mom made them in a tomato and chile sauce that I really loved. They also used to make them the same way at my parents’ restaurant fairly often. I really don’t have the recipe my mom and the cooks at the restaurant used for the sauce, but the ancho chile sauce I made came close, I believe, to the one from my culinary memory. I usually made meatballs with ground turkey and a lot of other ingredients thrown in the mixture to make them more interesting and this time was no exception:
Albondigas in ancho chile sauce
The ingredients:
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground meat
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup cooked pinto beans
- 1/2 cup corn kernels
- 1/2 cup zucchini, chopped in small cubes
- 1 TBSP fresh parsley, minced
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
For the sauce:
- 1 ancho chile, deseeded
- 1/2 small onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 3-4 cups chicken broth or water (the meatballs will give flavor to the sauce while cooking)
- 1 tsp gound cumin
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
The preparation:
- In a small pot bring to a boil 1/2 cup of water and add the chile ancho and cook until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Drain.
- In a large bowl mix all the meatball ingredients very well. Shape the meatballs about the size of golf balls and fried them in about 1/2″ of oil moving them constantly to sear them evenly.
- Blend together chile ancho, onion, garlic cloves and tomatoes with 1 cup of broth. Pour into a large pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium low and add the rest of the broth, cumin, bay leaves and oregano. Mix well.
- Add meatballs and bring the sauce to a boil again.
- Reduce heat to low and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until meatballs are completely cooked.
- Serve with rice and enjoy.
The afterthoughts:
Print this recipe
- I love chile ancho because it is a very mild and almost sweet chile so it complemented the tomato sauce perfectly. The meatballs were very interesting because of the different flavors you found in them in evey bite. This is perfect to keep your family and guests wondering the ingredients you used in them. I served this with tomatillo rice, which recipe I will be posting later in the week.
¡Buen provecho!
In another note, the following picture is my entry to Click, the best food photography event on the web, of which I am honored to be a judge this month (I can’t believe it either!). This month’s theme is allium, food for me wouldn’t be the same without that beautiful and delicious botanic famly.
If you liked this post, please stumble it:
30 Replies
Meatballs are one of my favorite dishes, but I must admit I have never tried a Mexican version. This looks delicious. I love the interesting ingredients you added, I would've never thought to add corn to a meatball. And your pictures are wonderful!
Posted on August 31st, 2009 at 5:09 pm
There are few things as satisfying as a well-made meatball!!! Love the sauce and the onion photo is priceless!!!!
Posted on August 31st, 2009 at 6:51 pm
First of all I am completely impressed with your photo of the onions. Amazing Ben!!!! Next the albondigas look so delicious I want them to jump off the plate.
Posted on August 31st, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Hermosas fotos!!!!!
Y las albóndigas se ven deliciosas!! se me antojaron!
Posted on August 31st, 2009 at 8:17 pm
I love the addition of the veggies in the meatballs and the sauce looks wonderful, too. I've been having a meatball hankering lately – I think I'll have to try this!
Posted on August 31st, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Oh, and that onion photo is simply amazing!!!!
Posted on August 31st, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Lovely recipe for albodingas…I’ve mostly had them in Spanish tapas bars as a snack and I find them very addictive. I quite like the ingredients you’ve included in yours especially that sauce as I adore all kinds of chillies! Love the photo too!
Posted on August 31st, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I love the idea of adding zucchini and corn to meatballs and the sauce sounds wonderful! That is a very cool picture of the onions!
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 2:48 am
These sound great! I love the use of turkey, and the sauce looks so good. Great photo of the onions too.
Posted on August 31st, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Oh, those meatballs looks so spicy and succulent!
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 6:59 am
These look really delicious! I hope to make them soon.
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 12:27 pm
This looks like such a great and interesting meal. I love finding new recipes like this that are completely new to me. I'm definitely going to try them out!
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Those look so good Ben! The sauce sounds amazing!
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Mmm, the ancho chile sauce sounds delicious. It'd be great on eggs or in a burrito.
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Interesting meat balls with beans and corn…sound and look delicious, have to try it!
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 8:06 pm
The meatball is almost a veggie ball! The sauce looks/sounds delicious and I'm looking forward to the tomatillo rice recipe. So, all in all, bravo! And another bravo! for the photography!
P.S. Did you see that I featured your watermelon gazpacho as one of my best picks for August?
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Hi my friend! Yes I did see that, I am making my way to your blog. Slowly but surely
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Maravilloso chico. I absolutely love the photos. Meatballs have always been a comfort food for me and my family. I'm trying this out this weekend.
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Oh no you didn't! Burritos is a word we don't use around here, now you must be punished, LOL just kidding
Posted on September 1st, 2009 at 8:29 pm
These look so good! I never thought about making Spanish meatballs before. Such a great idea.
Posted on September 2nd, 2009 at 2:07 am
YUM! That looks like an amazing dish. Stunning photos on your site!
Posted on September 2nd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Albondigas is one of my favorite dishes from Colombia, but I would love to try your Mexican version!
Posted on September 2nd, 2009 at 7:34 pm
The meatballs look really good, the sauce sounds delicious too!
Oh and that onion photo is simply stunning!
Posted on September 3rd, 2009 at 10:10 pm
This looks and sounds amazing with the spicy sauce! I have some ancho chilies and wondering what to do with them, this is a great idea!
Posted on September 5th, 2009 at 9:35 am
[...] Mexican Meatballs in Chile Ancho Sauce at What’s [...]
Posted on September 5th, 2009 at 11:48 am
[...] Sauteed red onions ~ What’s cooking? [...]
Posted on September 6th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I dont know about that ancho chile. Might be too strong for me. Your photos are just astonishing!!!!
Posted on September 15th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I love food ill eat it all!!!!!!!!
Posted on September 29th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Tanto La Olla Suiza como nosotros queremos agradecer vuestra entrega, participación y buena acogida, así que era imprescindible agilizar el esperado resumen, y aquí lo tenéis:
Resumen HEMC 37: Aperitivos
Resumen en La Quinta de Luculus
Gracias de nuevo!
Posted on October 26th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Tanto La Olla Suiza como nosotros queremos agradecer vuestra entrega, participación y buena acogida, así que era imprescindible agilizar el esperado resumen, y aquí lo tenéis:
Resumen HEMC 37: Aperitivos
Resumen en La Quinta de Luculus
Gracias de nuevo!
Posted on October 26th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Leave a reply