Luis Valerio from thespanishcuisine.com lets us in to the secret of how to make a great plate of Spanish style meatballs in tomato sauce to enjoy at home.

This recipe serves four

– 1 1⁄2 lb (680g)  ground beef 

– Six cloves of garlic

– Five medium sized eggs

– One onion

– Two cups all purpose flour

– Three ripe tomatoes

– One cup olive oil

– One tsp of  sugar

– 1⁄2 tsp saffron (threads)

– 1⁄2 tsp oregano (dried)

– 1⁄2 tsp parsley (dried)

– 1⁄4 tsp ground black pepper

– 1⁄2 tsp salt

Photo: Krista / Flickr

Method

Combine the ground beef, minced garlic, parsley, black pepper and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs and mix well until evenly blended

Place flour on a plate and flour your hands. Form each meatball and coat with flour

Pour a cup of olive oil into a large non-stick frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. Once the olive oil is hot, add the meatballs into the pan and fry for 2 minutes each side until golden.

Remove the meatballs from the pan and place them in a plate. Keep the frying-pan with the used oil to make the tomato sauce.

Chop the onion and cook over low heat for 10 minutes in the same frying-pan with the already used olive oil. Add a pinch of salt.

Peel and dice the tomatoes and add them to the saucepan with the sugar to cut the acidity (add your favorite spices such as basil or oregano). Cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes.

Use the blender to make the tomato sauce.

Place saffron and a pinch of salt into a spice mortar. Grind for 3 – 4 minutes.

Heat 2 cups of water and add it to the mortar and dissolve.

Place meatballs, tomato sauce and dissolved saffron into a large pot. Cook and stir over low heat for 15 minutes.

Serve and enjoy your Spanish meatballs!