Albondigas

Albondigas is the Spanish word for meatball. When I think of Albondigas, I think of the Mexican dish. The Mexican version consist of meatballs in a tomato broth soup. I found a few different recipes that I combined and then tweaked, there are still some changes that I would make in the future though. I noted these changes, if you would also prefer it to be a bit different in places. I hope you enjoy this delicious dish, after tonight it has become one of our new favorites.

Doesn't look as good as it tastes, unfortunately

Albondigas

For the "meatballs"¹:
1 cup TVP flakes²
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup brown rice
1 egg
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
olive oil

1. Cook rice. While rice is cooking heat vegetable broth to just below boiling. Place TVP flakes into vegetable broth and cover. Set aside.
2. In a large pan, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until browned.
3. Place cooked rice, onion/garlic mixture, rehydrated TVP, 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and spices in a medium bowl. Mix together. If it looks like it needs some more breadcrumbs, add up to another 1/4 cup. Beat egg and add to mixture. Mix until well combined.
4. Stick your hands in and start making meatballs. Place on a plate until all of the mixture is formed. Should make about 15 meatballs.

5. Heat olive oil in the same pan you sauted the garlic and onions. Carefully place meatballs into the oil once it is heated up. You want to let them get really brown before you flip them for the first time. This way they will stay together better. Flip them around, browning on all sides to your liking. We like ours dark as you can see. If they crumble a bit that will be okay too, don't worry about it too much.
6. Once they are done to your liking, remove them from the pan and set aside.


For the sauce³:

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 5.5 oz can V8
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper⁴
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup frozen peas (or fresh peas)
freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Take the same frying pan you used to make the meatballs, add olive oil if necessary and heat. Cook the onion until it is soft, then add garlic and some pepper.
2. Once the onion is looking translucent, add in the vegetable broth and turn the heat up to high. Let it boil for about a minute.
3. Add the diced tomatoes, ketchup, and V8. Wait for it to boil again, then reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add peas and stir in cayenne. Let simmer for a few minutes.
5. Add meatballs and spoon sauce over the meatballs to make sure they are covered. Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Serve HOT, preferably with some nice bread. We had Veg Bread,⁵, which worked really well.



Foodnotes:
1 This was a new veggie meatball recipe for me, and while the taste was nice, they were a little finicky on the frying pan. I had to be really delicate with them, so they wouldn't fall apart. I think next time I might try the beanball recipe from Veganomicon, one of my favorite veg cookbooks. But at least these ones tasted great.
2 TVP(textured vegetable protein) comes in many forms, we use the chunks and flakes. We always have both of them in the house because they can be used for so many different things and are dehydrated so they keep probably forever. I don't completely understand the process but it is a by-product of making soybean oil. If you are interested you can find out more here. TVP is available at the co-op in bulk and I have even seen it in some Giant Eagle's if you are in Pittsburgh.
3 When I think of Albondigas, I think of a soup. This turned out being more of a meatball with sauce dish. When I make this again I will probably put in a can of tomato sauce and at least another 2 cups of broth. You can find your own proportions depending on what you are feeling like, a brothy soup or a hearty sauce.
4 As I've mentioned before, we like the spicy in our house. If you don't, feel free to adjust the cayenne to whatever you feel like. However, this wasn't incredibly spicy, at all. If you decide to make the changes mentioned in foodnote 3 to make the dish more soupy, remember to keep in mind the cayenne will be even more diluted.
5 I had this idea to make basically zucchini bread out of a bunch of vegetables and make a double batch consisting of a large loaf pan and 2 dozen muffins. The result was what the house called "veg bread". It isn't sweet zucchini bread, it has definite vegetable taste and is only mildly sweet. It is good, but is much like the difference between complete pancake mix and buckwheat pancakes. Either way, it went surprisingly well with the Albondigas, the mild sweetness was highlighted in just the right way to completely compliment one another. If anyone is interested in the recipe, let me know and I can forward it, just be warned.