When we were travelling in Spain last year, we brought back home a bunch of spices from a shop (Medievo) that we stumbled upon in Granada. Since then, I've been experimenting with the spices to make chicken stew, lamb stew and paella. While delicious, none are ready for the blog yet.
But this Spanish-inspired smoked paprika meatball recipe is ready to share with you all!
The recipe is actually pretty simple to execute. Basically, mix all ingredients together, roll into small balls, pan fry to brown, and simmer in sauce for 20 minutes until meatballs are cooked through. That's it!!!
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| Add ingredients to bowl |
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| Mix thoroughly |
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| Form small meatballs |
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| Pan fry until browned on 2 to 3 sides |
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| Transfer meatballs to a plate and add onions to the pan |
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| Add tomatoes, water and spices and simmer for 10 min |
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| Return meatballs to the sauce pan and simmer for an additional 20 min |
There's not a lot of strong spices in these meatballs, so you want to use good quality ground beef and smoked paprika here. I like to use leaner ground beef (88% lean), and add in some water, panko (Japanese bread crumbs), and eggs to keep the meatballs moist and juicy. You can certainly use fattier ground beef, but you may need to drain out the fat in the pan after pan frying before adding in the ingredients for the sauce.
Serve these as an appetizer with some crusty bread and wine like the Spaniards!
Yields 6-8 servings (about 38-40 meatballs)
Ingredients for Meatballs:
- 2 lbs ground beef (about 88% lean)
- ¾ c panko
- ¼ c water
- 2 eggs
- 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 large red onion, finely chopped (about 1.5-2 c chopped)
- 2 T smoked paprika
- 2 t dried oregano
- 2 t salt
- 1 t sugar
- 1 t ground black pepper
Ingredients for Sauce:
- 1 can of unsalted diced tomatoes (14 oz)
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 c water
- ½ t salt
- ½ t sugar
- 1 t sweet paprika
Procedures:
1. Add all ingredients for meatballs into a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands.
2. Roll into small meatballs and add to a large pan. Pan fry until browned on 2 to 3 sides of the meatball and transfer meatballs to a plate. The meatballs will not be cooked through, but that’s OK, because we will cook them further in the sauce later.
3. To the pan (no need to clean pan or discard oil), add in the diced red onions and saute until translucent.
4. Then add in the diced tomatoes, water, salt, sugar, and paprika. Mix and simmer for 10 minutes uncovered.
5. Return meatballs to the sauce. Cover pan with lid and simmer for 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Stir occasionally to prevent meatballs from sticking to the bottom or burning.
6. Serve warm with some crusty bread and wine!