Albondigas en Chipotle.... because you don't need a reason

ALBONDIGAS EN CHIPOTLE.-

For me it was because I had too many tomatoes and they were getting very ripe so I needed to use them up. Since we've been back in Mexico the produce has improved and I found that the smaller Municipal Markets offer a better quality, riper and more flavorful, of fruits and vegetables than the big chain supermarkets so I make a trip to the Santiago Market when I need anything. I also don't refrigerate all of them automatically like many do stateside and with the warmer climate they tend to get ripe sooner, unless you pick ripe produce to begin with so you can eat it right away. Yes, there is a BIG difference in taste and we love it, fruit now tastes the way we remember with a lot of flavor and sweetness, juicy and wonderful. I'm not complaining about the lower prices either.

The other day I used up my tomatoes on the "Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce" but this time it was on the albondigas. If you want to make really tender meatballs (and who doesn't) I'll put the recipe on here so you can try them out but I began by scalding the tomatoes (first cut an "X" on the top, cut out the hard base) in boiling water for maybe 20 seconds or until the edges of the cut "X" start to peel back, shock the tomatoes then in ice water to cool and then peel. You can cut them in half and remove the seeds if you're a purist but over the years I've mostly stopped doing that, as I was taught in Culinary School to do, and just went natural. You can choose what you prefer. You can then blend them or place them in a pan with some oil and mash them, your choice and depends on what you want the result to be.

For the Albondigas you will need:

4-5 slices of fresh bread, crusts removed and cut in small cubes
1/3 cup milk, I prefer buttermilk (see note)
1/2 medium onion, diced fine
8 garlic cloves, diced fine
1/4-1/3 cup parsley/cilantro leaves, your choice, minced fine
4-5 tsp kosher salt
Black pepper, fresh ground
4 egg yolks
1-2 tsp ground oregano
1 1/2 lbs ground pork, not lean
1 1/2 lbs ground beef, not lean

Note: You can add more spices if you like: ground fennel, red pepper flakes, basil, etc. If you don't have buttermilk you can put the milk in a glass and add 1 tbl of white vinegar and allow to rest for about 5-8 minutes and it will give you a pretty good version for cooking or baking. Don't use lean meat since you need the fat for juicy, tender meatballs, use 80/20 or something like that. You can also add some bacon if you like, chopped fine. You can also add grated cheese if you like.

To make the meatballs:  Place the bread in a bowl and add the milk, allow to soak up the liquid really well and insure the bread is really soaked and falling apart so you can mash it, either by hand or spoon, if not, add a little more milk, a tbl at a time until it is. Add the onion, mix in then the garlic, spices, salt and pepper, egg yolks. Make sure it's really well incorporated.

You want tender meatballs which means, don't overwork the meat. So, take half the pork meat and blend it into the mixture, then half the beef. When you're ready to mix in the last of the meat do so gently, by hand, and make sure it gets well mixed. If you're unsure of your seasonings you can take a little bit of meat and cook it in a pan, taste and adjust the seasonings this way.

Once the meat is mixed in you're ready to take a pan with a little oil and start cooking the meatballs, turn them until they're nicely golden. You can also place them in a baking sheet and bake in the oven or I've also heard people broil them, turning them every couple minutes or so until done. Do not overcook.

If you're going to use them without sauce, you're done. If you want you can start with a Basic Tomato Sauce and add your flavorings to it. You've got the peeled tomatoes so now:

Use a large pan, add some oil / lard / fat and once hot add some red pepper flakes (always to tomato), finely chopped garlic and any spices you like, when they are aromatic add the tomatoes and start heating them up to get soft (at this point is where they will turn into the Chipotle Sauce for your meatballs by adding your pan ingredients and tomatoes to a blender, add 3-4-5-6 chipotle peppers (from a can or re-constituted dried ones, unless you know Chipotle well, I would add 1, blend, taste and decide if you want to add more and while it may seem really hot at this point it will loose some heat so consider it while adding) and blend them into a smooth sauce, add this back into the pan, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 5-10 minutes before adding the meatballs- again, don't overcook or think to let them simmer for hours on end, just 20 minutes or so so they don't loose all their juiciness and get overcooked)or add the tomato sauce (can, blended tomatoes).

If you're just making tomato sauce you can blend the tomatoes, add your flavorings, allow to come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 5-10 min to come together. Taste it, if it seems acidic to you, you can add some sugar to balance out the acidity, a tbl at a time until you like it. At this point if you're going to add any seasonings go ahead, taste and simmer a little. Turn off the heat, allow to cool and store. If you want a chunkier sauce for pasta or lasagna for instance then leave the tomatoes chunky, season and use as desired. Of course you can always use canned tomato sauce.