El Salvador: Albóndigas

I spent the last two months experimenting with more traditionally American foods. I bought myself a crock pot, learned to cook steaks and pork tenderloin, spiced up my salads with green onions and dried cranberries, and ate more potatoes with ketchup than I care to admit. I was just about to pick up the ingredients to tackle my first-ever meatloaf, when my sister suggested this great Salvadoran dish. It tastes similar to your typical tomato-based meatloaf, but with a definitively latin twist.

What you'll need:

For the meatballs:

1 egg

1 lb. ground beef

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 onion, finely chopped

1/3 tomato, finely chopped

.25 cup fresh cilantro or mint, finely chopped

1 tsp. salt

.5 tsp pepper

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Oil for frying

For the sauce:

32 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

.25 cup fresh cilantro

1/3 jalapeño (use more if you want it spicy)

Salt to taste

Meatballs:

Step 1: Beat egg in a large bowl. 

Step 2: Add ground beef, garlic, onion, tomato, cilantro, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.

Step 3: Form mixture into small, fat patties.

Step 4: Heat oil in large pan.

Step 5: Fry the meatball patties, about 5 minutes on each side, or until brown.

For the sauce, all you need to do is mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve meatballs with the sauce over rice. Top with fresh cilantro (optional), and enjoy!

(Thank you to www.latinaish.com for the specifics of this recipe.)