Spanish Meatballs ♥ One Sauce, Five Meals

I am having a very hard time writing this post but I owe my readers a finish to something I started a few weeks ago.
I admit my mind is elsewhere and I hope that my lack of concentration is due to family not to a lack of enthusiasm for cooking. I have seen many blogs end due to burnout and I would hate to be the next casualty. Time lately, has just flown by and happily we have a small 4 day trip to Gettysburg planned until Tuesday. I am so looking forward to surrounding myself with history and not cooking vessels.
So before I go, I will finish all loose ends and return with renewed energy.

So, let's finish this series "Master Sauce, Five Dishes".
To recap, Oxtail Stew inspired a Shrimp Etouffee, then Braised Ribs in Tomato Sauce, a Sichuan Baked Cod and, finally, Spanish Meatballs.

I have to admit planning and making the dishes was easy, taking their picture and writing the post was so very difficult.
I liked the conception but picked the wrong time to implement the project.

I liked the idea that these were baby meatballs, the kind kids will gobble up and adults will appreciate. These are no way near an Albondiga which are Mexican meatballs. Picture a baking dish of sizzling garlic shrimp and substitute the shrimp for meat.

There it is in a nutshell. Served with noodles or rice and even Fideos would work, I served mine with a salad and a loaf of Panella bread. Yum. The sauce is to die for. I must worn you, there is copious amounts of garlic but it's cooked not raw so toned down a bit. This makes quite a few meatballs and leftovers would be good as an addition in a soup, just quarter them to make them bite-sized.

If you are interested in my opinion, the Etouffee and these meatballs are worth making again but the cod, although good, was not a Nudge favorite, but then cod is not on the top of his fish list.
The ribs? OMG, they were out-of-this-world fabulous and made it into our top 20 favs for 2014.

These meatballs were made in my slow cooker and the aromatics were microwaved to bloom the flavors before adding them along with the broth, white wine and master sauce to the insert.

It was that easy.

Spanish Meatballs
makes about 40 1-inch balls

* 4 sliced white sandwich bread
* 1 cup whole milk
* 2 pounds 85% lean ground beef
* 1/2 cup grated cheese
* 2 large egg yolks
* 1/4 cup minced parsley
* 6 cloves garlic, minced
* salt & pepper
* 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
* 1 cup master sauce
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475° degrees. Place wire rack in aluminum foil-lines rimmed baking sheet.
2. Mash bread and milk into a paste in large bowl using fork. Mix in ground beef, Parmesan, egg yolks, 1/4 cup parsley, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper using hands. Use a tablespoon scoop to portion the meatballs, roll and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
3. Microwave onions, remaining 4 garlic cloves, oil, paprika and saffron in bowl, stirring until onions are softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.
4. Stir broth, master sauce, wine, and bay leaves into slow cooker. Transfer meatballs to slow cooker, discarding rendered fat. Cover and cook until meatballs are tender, 4 to 6 hours on low.
5. Let meatballs and sauce settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Discard bay leaves. Gently stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Here are the four dishes made with the same master sauce.
(links below)

Insanely Good Oxtail Stew (not shown)
Shrimp Etouffee
Braised Pork Ribs in Sauce
Baked Miso Cod in Sichuan Sauce
Spanish Meatballs