Sunday, May 2, 2010

Cuban Spaghetti & Meatballs

I’ve made Nitza’s albondigas (meatballs) before, but this time, we’re making it Milanese style. The difference between this version and her regular albondigas? The meat is a mix of beef, pork and ham instead of beef alone and in this version, you add queso Patagrás (Gouda cheese). This Milanese version also omits green peppers, which the original albondigas have, so I’d venture to say that this is more of an Italian throw on the meatball.

Recipe #59: Albondigas a la Milanesa

ingredients for Albondigas a la Milanesa

You go through the pretty basic moves to get golf-ball sized, juicy meatballs:

Roll the meat into bolitas (little balls).

flouring the meatballs

Fry them in hot oil and take them out when browned on all sides.

once fried meatballs

In the fat that’s left behind, fry up your onion.

fat

Add your tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, sugar, dry white wine, bay leaf and pepper.

sauce to the onions

When the sauce starts to boil, dunk in the meatballs and let them cook in the sauce, over low heat for about 25 minutes, while you cook your pasta or rice.

cooking the meatballs again in the sauce

We went traditional Italian for our Cuban dish and did Spaghetti and Meatballs. My kids ate it. My kids ate it.

Meatballs Milanese

My kids ate it!

Success with the little ones in this Nitza dish.

1 comment:

  1. It's nice to see that you are preparing the traditional Cuban cuisine. It is a dying art that must be passed from generation to generation or it will be lost, transformed or forgotten. Good luck.

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