Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce (albondigas en salsa de chipotle)

Forget Swdish meatballs! These spicy, smpky meatballs are always a favorite when I cater a party.

Chipotle chiles are one of my favorite flavors in Mexican cooking and this tomato-chipotle sauce is versatile and almost addictive.  I use it to make tortas ahogadas, the open face roasted pork sandwiches from the state of Jalisco like they made at the cafeteria at the ITESO, the university I attended in Guadalajara. The sauce also is delicious on pasta, omelets or to poach eggs in but I used it to make the delicious albondigas en chipotle as an appetizer for my New Year’s dinner last night. It’s a snap.

Make your sauce first

Salsa de Tomate con Chile Chipotle

Tomato Sauce with Chipotle Chiles

Makes about 3 cups

2 tablespoons lard, preferably home-rendered (see page 000) or vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium-sized white onion, sliced into thin half-moons

One 28-ounce can of tomatoes (preferably San Marzanos from Italy)

2 – 3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, with the sauce that clings to them

1 teaspoon dried crumbled Mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Chicken stock (optional)

In a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the lard to rippling over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.  Break up the tomatoes coarsely with your fingers.  Add the tomatoes and their juices to the sauteed onion.  Stir in the chiles and oregano.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until slightly concentrated.  Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm, about 15 minutes.  Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. (If using the sauce to cook the meatballs in, add 1 – 2 cups chicken stock to the blender.)  Taste for salt (the tomatoes will have some) and add a little if needed.  Serve hot at once or store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 – 5 days and reheat before serving.

To make the meatballs:

l/4   cup masa harina

l/4   cup warm water

l       pound lean ground beef, or l/2 pound each lean ground pork and beef

3/4  teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

2  garlic cloves

Mince the garlic cloves. In a large bowl, combine masa harina with the warm water. Add the ground meat, l/2 teaspoon salt (optional), a generous grinding of black pepper, and minced garlic clove. Mix these ingredients with your hands and shape into tiny balls, between the size of a large marble and a small walnut. (Mixture makes 40 – 45 small meatballs.) Set aside.

Bring the sauce to a soft boil and add the meatballs a few at a time and cook about 15 minutes or until they float to the top of the sauce.  You can hold the dish for several hours or overnight.