Albondigas en Salsa de Almendras
Meatballs in almond sauce
Ingredients
- 300 g Ground beef
- 200 g Ground pork
- 60 g Marcona almonds
- ¼ baguette Baguette
- 1 Egg
- 1 Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- ½ tin San Marzano tomatoes (DOP)
- 100 ml White wine
- 400 ml Chicken stock
- ⅛ g Saffron
- 4 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 60 ml Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black pepper
- 3 tbsp Parsley (optional)
Method
- Warm the stock in a small saucepan, crumble in the saffron, and leave it to bloom off the heat while you prep everything else.
- Soak a piece of the bread in a little water, then squeeze it dry.
- Mince the onion fine. Grate the garlic. Chop the parsley.
- While the saffron stock blooms, toast the almonds in the dry Dutch oven until golden, then tip them onto a plate.
- Mix the beef and pork with the soaked bread, half the onion, half the garlic, the egg, salt, and pepper.
- Roll the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs and dust them lightly in flour.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide pan. Brown the meatballs in batches all over.
- In the same Dutch oven where the almonds were toasted, sweat the remaining onion and garlic in a slick of oil until soft.
- Pour in the wine and let it cook off.
- Add the tomato and the bloomed saffron stock. Simmer to meld.
- Crush the toasted almonds with a spoonful of the broth into a paste (picada).
- Stir the almond picada into the sauce. Slide in the meatballs and simmer gently until cooked through.
- Plate with the parsley scattered over and bread on the side.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Albondigas en Salsa de Almendras
Albondigas en salsa de almendras are Spanish meatballs braised in a distinctly Andalusian almond sauce — a preparation that carries clear Moorish fingerprints in its use of ground nuts and saffron to thicken and perfume a sauce rather than flour or cream. These are a fixture of the tapas table, served in small earthenware dishes with plenty of bread to mop up the sauce, and the pork-and-beef blend gives them a richer, more tender bite than an all-beef meatball would. It's a dish meant for sharing and for lingering over.
The sauce is where this version earns its keep. Almonds are toasted until golden and then blended into the base, giving it a nutty, slightly grainy body and a mellow sweetness, while saffron bloomed in warm stock lends its unmistakable honeyed, floral note and a golden color. White wine and tomato round it into something savory and layered rather than one-dimensional. The meatballs themselves are bound with bread soaked and squeezed dry — a Spanish move that keeps them soft — then lightly floured and browned so they hold together and add fond to the pan. It's a slower dish at around forty-five minutes, but it delivers the kind of deep, sauce-forward comfort that begs to be eaten with crusty bread and a glass of the same wine.
Albondigas en Salsa de Almendras: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Albondigas en Salsa de Almendras?
A serving has about 666 calories — 34g protein, 27.8g carbs, 44.6g fat, 4g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 34g of protein, roughly 20% of its calories.
Is Albondigas en Salsa de Almendras gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Baguette, All-purpose flour. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for those ingredients to make it gluten-free.
How long does Albondigas en Salsa de Almendras take to make?
About 45 minutes start to finish, but only around 34 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Albondigas en Salsa de Almendras?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out parsley — it's optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Albondigas en Salsa de Almendras make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.