Meatballs

Albóndigas cubanas

Homemade meatballs are a traditional dish that we can prepare in just a few minutes and consume in a very different way.
In Cuba it is typical to make homemade meatballs since one day the Spanish conquerors, who in turn learned from the Arabs, passed on their tradition to us.

What is a meatball?
The term meatball is nothing more than that used to name a preparation made from ground meat mixed with various spices or seasonings.

How to make meatballs?
Here's a quick and easy recipe for homemade Cuban meatballs.

Preparation:
We start by finely chopping the onion and pepper or we can also grind both ingredients so that they have an even finer texture.
Then we place the minced meat in a container to mix it with the rest of the ingredients; onion, pepper, salt, oregano, cumin, pepper, tomato puree, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs.
With clean hands, knead the entire mixture a little so that the ingredients are well integrated and it remains more compact. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
After this time, we will form medium or small balls, with our hands or using two spoons
Some people prefer to dredge the meatballs, one by one, in wheat flour, even though I personally never do this, nor do I think it is essential.
This way our homemade meatballs are ready and we can cook them immediately in a Creole tomato sauce, simply fry them, or even keep them frozen for other occasions.
I like it best in tomato sauce, as well as adding parsley and ground cinnamon to the minced meat mixture. It's fantastic.
This is how we can improvise a little, and thus benefit from a new taste in the ground meat that Cubans can buy at state grocery stores via the supply book. This 'picadillo', of dubious origin, would have always had the worst reputation among Cubans, who then have to 'invent' to improve its quality... 😉