Albondigas in tomato sauce

"Albondigas" is the spanish word for meatballs. I ate this dish on a regular basis as a child, it is one of the dishes that I call comfort food now and it happens to be great and easy to make.

The original recipe asks for the meatballs to be cooked in the sauce, and it is really tasty but I prefer to bake the meatballs first and then add them to the sauce, this way the meat has that lovely crust that I adore! However, if you decide to cook the meatballs in the sauce, roll them in some flour before adding them to the sauce to prevent them from bursting out.

They are great on top of some white rice served with fried beans (My mum's serving way) or as pasta sauce for kids.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg ground meat (can also be chicken)
• 3 large tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• Bread crumbs (my mother used to dip a slice of bread in some milk instead)
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vegetable Oil 

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix the meat, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Allow it to rest and form little/medium sized balls.
2. Bake the meatballs in a large pan. It is not needed to use a lot of oil, a tablespoon will do. Once baked, set aside.
3. On a medium sized pan lighlty fry the onion in some oil, add the garlic and the tomatoes and paste, season with salt and pepper and let it cook for a little while.
4. Add the broth and bring it to boil.
5. Reduce the fire and add the meatballs, allow it to reduce a bit and listo!!

Tip: You can add some carrots, peas or pretty much any other veggies to the sauce to make the dish more complete.