Ben Tish’s Albondigas in an Almond and Sherry Vinegar Sauce
“This is such a good initiative to be involved with and a genuine worth while cause. I was instantly drawn to the passion behind the project and if I can help in a small way using my work and passion for cooking then fantastic.”
Albondigas is Spanish for meatball. There are endless recipes for the apparent definitive version, the holy grail of meatballs but like many of these things it’s really subjective.
A lamb albondigas would be more in keeping with the Moorish culture but I love a beef meatball and here I add some fatty chorizo for lubrication and zing.
The almond-bread sauce is typical of the Andalucian- Moorish self-thickening combinations- often served cold in a soup form “ajo blanco”. I love these sauces but the plain sweetness needs a good amount of acidity to balance things. Here some excellent aged sherry vinegar does just that.
Ben Tish
Culinary Director, The Stafford & Chef Director at Norma
SERVES: 4
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PREP TIME: 1 hour 15 mins
COOKING TIME: 10-15 mins
Ingredients
ALBONDIGAS
550g quality Beef mince
125g spicy Chorizo
15g of dried Breadcrumbs
6 tbsps milk
2 cloves peeled Garlic, finely chopped
1 small Egg, beaten
1 bunch small flat Parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp hot smoked Paprika
2 Bay leaves
Sea salt, black pepper, Olive oil for cooking
ALMOND SHERRY VINEGAR SAUCE
2 slices day old white Bread, crusts removed and cut into bite size pieces
40g ground Almonds
1 Garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
60ml quality sweet Sherry vinegar
60ml White wine
300ml Chicken stock (homemade is best)
25ml Extra virgin olive oil
A good handful of picked dill leaves
Method
STEP 1
Place the beef mince in a bowl and season well. Blend together the chorizo, garlic, breadcrumb, milk, smoked paprika and parsley in a food processor to form a rough paste.
Pour the chorizo mix into the beef and pour in the egg. Mix very well to ensure its all fully incorporated.
STEP 2
Form the mince mix into approximately 28 balls and then chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
STEP 3
Heat a large non stick sauté pan over a medium heat and add a lug of olive oil. Fry the meatballs off in 2 batches with the bay leaves, ensuring they are nicely browned and then transfer to a dish.
STEP 4
When all the meatballs are browned, make the sauce in the same pan. Over a medium heat add the extra virgin olive oil, bread and almonds and cook for a few minutes to lightly colour.
Now add the wine and vinegar and reduce down by 3/4 . Add the stock, bring to the boil and turn to a simmer.
STEP 5
Add the meatballs back into the simmering sauce and cook for 10 minutes until the meat balls and just cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
Serve sprinkled with more chopped parsley and the dill.