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Sandra Valvassori

Sandra Valvassori

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Home › Dinner

Albóndigas Guisadas (Stewed Meatballs)

Posted: October 17, 2018 | by Sandra Valvassori
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Albonigas Gusiadas- Stewed meatballs with olives and tomato sauceLike the rest of the world, I am extremely fond of the Italian-American classic meatballs in rich tomato sauce that are almost always served with spaghetti. The meatball’s global charm however, is that it will absorb whatever you give it (think curry sauce!) offering a million possibilities to explore within the basic formula and every culture seems to have their own take as well as the usual contradictions; which meat to use, whether to fry or bake, or if bread and eggs get included. This recipe for albóndigas guisadas — meatballs stewed in a sofrito-laced sauce — is the version I grew up eating.

Granted, meatballs are always a little fastidious to make but if you plan ahead you can make it in stages. The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen. Likewise, the meatballs can be formed and frozen for later use. To me, these meatballs are so nostalgic and always worth the effort.

How To Make Albóndigas Guisadas

Different than your classic Nonna’s meatball sauce, these albóndigas cook in a rich sofrito sauce; a sautéed mixture of peppers, onion, garlic and tomatoes along with a few herbs and spices. The sauce does not need a long cook time so it becomes only slightly thick but not too pulpy — more like the consistency of a salsa sauce. I love adding capers and/or olives for the unique flavour they add, but if you wish to leave them out add a splash of apple cider vinegar, or red wine vinegar, a few minutes before the sauce is ready.

Table of Contents[Hide]
  • How To Make Albóndigas Guisadas
  • How to Serve Albóndigas

The albóndigas I remember eating were made exclusively with ground beef or a blend of beef and pork. To make them a tad healthier I use lean ground turkey and to me, it’s hard to notice any difference but use whichever ground meat you wish, it all works. I skip the browning — too messy and not really necessary — and instead let them sort of poach in the sauce where they become very tender and flavourful. There is nothing fancy about the ingredients for these stewed meatballs, yet the flavours are un-deniably delicious and like all braises or stews, it gets even better the next day.

Ingredients for Albondigas  braising vegetables for albondigas sauceSauce for albondigasrolling albondigas meatballs  All the rolled albondigas meatballsMeatballs in sauce before braising

How to Serve Albóndigas

These ridiculously delicious albóndigas guisadas can be served with toothpicks for a fun tapas-style appetizer. Naturally, I also love to serve the meatballs as a meal with rice and beans and a crunchy green salad, but I can’t imagine anyone would scoff if you served them Italian-style over some buttery egg noodles. Enjoy!

Stewed meatballs served with rice and beans

 

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Albóndigas Guisadas (Stewed Meatballs)

Author: Sandra Valvassori
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Ingredients  

  • For the sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small red or yellow onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 green bell pepper diced
  • 1 red sweet pepper sliced thinly or diced
  • 4 medium tomatoes chopped or 1 can whole tomatoes, drained
  • 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cup of tomato sauce use only 1 cup if using canned tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon dry oregano
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 cup of water
  • a handful cilantro sprigs plus more for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons of capers optional
  • 1/4 cup green olives optional
  • For the meatballs
  • 2 pounds lean ground turkey
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs I used panko
  • 1 small red or yellow onion finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves grated or minced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (see notes)
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • In a large lidded sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and peppers and sauté until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 more minute. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, oregano, salt, and pepper. If using canned tomatoes, crush with a wooden spoon, add the water and cilantro sprigs and lat come to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Using wet hands, mix all the ingredients well until everything is combined. Form meatballs, wetting hands as needed, to about the size of a golfball.
  • Carefully add the meatballs to the sauce and cook, covered, about 15 minutes. Uncover and add the capers and olives if using. Cook uncovered another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with white rice and beans, if desired.

Notes

A note on salt. I only use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt for all my cooking and baking. Other brands, or tables salt, might be saltier so err on the side of caution and use a little less.
Keywords: Dominican, Meatballs, Turkey
Cuisine Spanish/Latin American
Tried this recipe?Tag @sandra_valvassori on Instagram or hashtag #sandravalvassori!

Albonigas Gusiadas- Stewed meatballs with olives and tomato sauce

 

 

Agrodolce Delicata Squash on plate

Agrodolce Delicata Squash

Mejadra in pot

MEJADRA

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4.75 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




  1. MaryJ

    4 stars
    A delicious recipe overall. I left out some spices if there was some overlap with the adobo and used more adobo to make up the difference. Since I ran out of red wine vinegar I substituted regular vinegar in the sauce and also added a few capers. I feel it’s best to saute the onion and peppers separately to soften them more rather than blend and cook them with the sofrito right away. I would recommend doubling the sauce recipe in order to yield more. This could me a little sodium heavy for some folks so rethink how to reduce the content without losing too much of the deliciousness.😀

    Reply
    • Sandra Valvassori

      Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Mary! Regarding the sodium level, I use exclusively Diamond Crystal Kosher salt for all my recipes which is less salty than almost all other salts—I will make a note of this in the recipe card. Thank you so much for your review!

      Reply

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