CROSS-CULTURAL FISH BALLS

At a roadside restaurant on the banks of the Guadalquivir, not far from Sevilla, my friends and I ordered the menu del día, a fixed-price meal consisting of primer plato (starter), segundo plato (main dish) and postre (dessert) for €8.50 (about $9.20). There were a couple choices for each course. 

For the primer plato, we chose albondiguitas de pescado, fish balls. Served in shallow bowls with sauce and bread to go with, they were four or five small balls, nicely seasoned, very tasty. I asked the cook for the recipe.

Fish balls in sauce--a Spanish dish that dates from medieval times.

I later discovered almost the identical recipe for albóndigas de pescado in Sephardic (Jewish) cookbooks. Sephardic cooking originated in medieval Spain, when Jews lived in many parts of the Iberian peninsula along with the Moorish (Arab) overlords. The word “albóndiga” comes from the Arabic al-bundaq, meaning “round.” Albóndigas is the word for either fish or meat balls.

You can use any white fish, such as hake, cod, sole, grouper or halibut for these fish balls. Fresh fish is best, but frozen will work just fine. (If you’re in Spain, you might want to try this recipe with the widely available rosada, a fish caught wild in the South Atlantic (Genypterus capensis, pink cusk eel) and marketed frozen or thawed.)

The fish balls are also a good way to use leftover cooked fish. Use about 2 cups flaked, cooked fish and leave off the poaching step.

My current favorite fish is corvina. (More about corvina  here.) Because it is farmed in Spain, the fish is reasonable in cost. I cut two fillets from the lomo, thick center section, for grilling and save the skinny tail ends and thick “belly” section with rib bones for making these fish balls. Once the bony pieces are gently poached, it’s easy to remove any remaining skin and bones.

After frying, the fish balls can be served as a tapa.

Add fish balls to soup with cooked rice and peas.

Serving ideas. Make small fish balls (marble-sized) and serve them, without the sauce, as a tapa. Accompany the fried balls with a garlicky alioli. As a starter, they’re good with bread for mopping up the sauce. If you’re serving them for dinner, make walnut-sized balls and accompany them with steamed white rice, pasta or potatoes. At my house, kids like fries with the albóndigas. Remaining broth from poaching the fish can be saved for fish soup. Add any leftover fish balls to the soup.

Fish balls in sauce on the dinner plate, with new potatoes and snap peas from the garden.

Fish Balls in Sauce

Albondigitas de Pescado

If you’re starting with fish that has some skin and bone, use about 20 ounces fish, as some will be discarded.

Makes 16 fish balls or 32 small ones.

For the fish balls:
1 pound boneless, skinless white fish
4 ½ cups water
Slice of lemon
Sprigs of parsley
Slice of onion
1 bay leaf
Salt
2 ounces crustless bread (about 8 baguette slices)
½ cup milk
2 cloves garlic
½ cup chopped parsley
Pinch of crushed saffron (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
Grated lemon zest
1 egg
Plain flour for dredging the fish balls (about ¼ cup)
Olive oil for frying 

 
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup grated tomato
½ cup fino Sherry or dry white wine
¾ cup reserved fish broth or water
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley to serve

For the fish balls: Wash the pieces of fish. Place the water in a pan with lemon slice, parsley, onion slice, bay and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Add the fish to the pan and simmer just until it flakes easily, about 5 minutes. Lift the fish out with a slotted spoon and allow to cool. Strain and reserve ¾ cup of the broth in which the fish was poached. (Remaining broth can be saved for soup.)

After poaching, it's easy to remove bones.

When fish is cool enough to handle, flake or chop it, discarding any skin or bones.

Pour the milk over the bread slices in a small bowl and allow to soak for 10 minutes.

In a food processor finely chop together the garlic and parsley. Squeeze out excess liquid from the bread. Add it and process until bread is fairly smooth. Add the saffron, if using,  ½ teaspoon salt, lemon zest and egg and process to blend. Place in a bowl.

Add the flaked fish to the processor and pulse several times just to chop it. Combine the fish with the bread mixture. Refrigerate the fish mixture, tightly covered, at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.

Mix chopped fish with bread.

Place the flour in a shallow pan. Shape the fish mixture into 1 ¾ -inch balls (or small ones, half that size) and place them in the flour. Roll the balls to coat evenly with flour.

Roll fish balls in flour.

Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a large frying pan. Heat the oil and fry the fish balls, in two or three batches, turning them to brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Remove them as they are browned.

After frying, fish balls are ready to serve. Or, reheat them in the sauce.

For the sauce: Heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a clean frying pan. Sauté the chopped onion and green pepper on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomato and fry on a high heat until tomato sweats out its liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and reserved strained fish broth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Add the fish balls to the sauce and reheat gently, about 8 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs to serve.

Fish balls are light, juicy.

More recipes for meatballs and fish balls.

Chickpeas and spinach with cod dumplings.

Meatballs with leeks.

Meatballs in almond sauce.

Recipes for alioli to accompany fried fish balls: http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2015/03/rice-on-side.html and http://mykitcheninspain.blogspot.com.es/2010/02/jug-of-olive-juice.html.

THE MEATBALL BLOG

Meatballs with almond-saffron sauce.

I was working on an article about Spanish food for a British magazine, with recipes for some of my favorite tapas. One I chose is a tapa bar classic—meatballs in a saffron-almond sauce. The editor asked if I had any photos, and I realized that I hadn’t made meatballs in a really long time and had no photos in my files.

Now I do. They were so delicious. This recipe reminds me of what I love about ordinary Spanish food—the subtle spicing, use of ground almonds and wine in a sauce. And the immediacy—I am gathering almonds from the trees on the edge of my property.

Tapa of meatballs.

Meatballs in Almond Sauce
Albóndigas en Salsa de Almendras

Most Spanish words that start with “al,” as in albóndigas and almendras, derive from the Arabic. The flavorings for these meatballs and sauce could be straight out of a 12th century Moorish cookbook. Many spices, such as the saffron, cloves and nutmeg in this recipe, as well as almonds were introduced into Spanish cooking by the Moors, Arabs who invaded Spain in 711 and ruled parts of the country for nearly eight centuries.

Make these meatballs with all pork, a combination of pork and beef, or ground chicken thighs. As a tapa, serve them with chunks of bread. Or turn meatballs into a main dish with rice or noodles alongside.

Makes 40 to 50 meatballs.

Fried almonds, garlic and bread.

For the meatballs:
¾ pound ground beef
¾ pound ground pork
2 slices stale bread, crusts removed
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
flour
¼ cup olive oil

Spices for meatball sauce.

For the sauce:
½ cup almonds, blanched and skinned
1 slice bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
10 peppercorns
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 clove
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup white wine
1 cup chicken or meat broth
chopped parsley

Combine the ground beef and pork in a bowl. Soak the bread in water or milk to cover until soft. Squeeze it out and add to the meat with the garlic, onion, parsley, salt, nutmeg and egg. Knead well to make a smooth mixture.

Form into 1-inch balls. Roll them in flour and fry slowly in hot oil until browned on all sides. Remove and drain.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and fry the almonds, bread and garlic in the oil until golden. Remove.

In a mortar, crush the peppercorns, saffron, clove and salt. In a food processor, grind together the toasted almonds, bread and garlic with the wine to make a smooth paste. Add the spices to this mixture.

Stir the almond mixture into the oil in the skillet and add the stock. Bring to a boil, then add the fried meatballs. Simmer the meatballs, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add additional liquid as needed.

Serve the meatballs garnished with chopped parsley.


Piquant Cocktail Meatballs
Pinchos de Albondiguillas

Here’s another meatball recipe, a versatile party dish. The meatballs are accented with piquant piquillo peppers and require no sauce. If you can’t find piquillos, use any roasted pimiento.

These meatballs are quickly fried. A light flouring prevents the meatballs from splattering when frying. However, if you are preparing them for a crowd, try baking them, unfloured, in a hot oven (450º for about 12 minutes).

Makes 60 bite-sized meatballs.

Spicy meatballs.

2 pounds ground pork
2 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
½ cup minced onion
½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne or hot pimentón
1 teaspoon sweet pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)
1 teaspoon sweet pimentón (paprika)
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon black pepper
grating of fresh nutmeg
1 tablespoon vinegar
flour for dredging, about ¼ cup
olive oil for frying, about ½ cup
10 piquillo peppers (from a 7.6-ounce jar), drained and patted dry

Place the pork in a bowl. Add the garlic, onion, and parsley.

In a small bowl combine the salt, cayenne, pimentón de la Vera, sweet pimentón, cumin, thyme, oregano, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the vinegar and stir to make a smooth paste. Dribble the spice mixture into the meat. Knead the meat with the hands to distribute the seasonings evenly.

Allow the meat to stand at room temperature for 1 hour or, covered and refrigerated, for up to 24 hours.

Form the mixture into 1-inch balls. Dredge the meatballs in flour, patting off excess.

Heat oil to cover the bottom of a large, heavy skillet. Fry the meatballs in two or three batches, turning to brown them on all sides, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove meatballs to drain on paper towels.

Cut each piquillo pepper into 6 strips. Fold a strip into thirds, spear it with a toothpick, and skewer a meatball. Place on a serving platter.

Serve meatballs hot or room temperature. If desired, meatballs can be prepared in advance and reheated in the oven.