Saveur Cooks Authentic American - Editors Of Cook's Illustrated Magazine [5]
Tapas-Style Meatballs
Albóndigas en Salsa
Succulent miniature meatballs, simmered in a sauce of olive oil, beef stock, and white wine, can be had throughout Spain, from the tapas bars of Madrid to the kitchens of home cooks like Carmen Barrio Perez (pictured), who lives in the small Catalan city of Sils. The meatballs are typically skewered with toothpicks and served in earthenware dishes called cazuelas. Tapas-Style Meatballs
FOR THE MEATBALLS:
1½ lbs. coarsely ground beef
1½ lbs. coarsely ground pork
½ cup fresh white bread crumbs
¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
4 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cloves garlic, minced Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup flour
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Spanish for the sauce:
FOR THE SAUCE:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large leek, white part only, chopped
1 dried bay leaf
2 tbsp. flour
2½ cups beef or veal stock
1½ cups white wine
Serves 4–6
1. Make the meatballs: Mix together the beef, pork, bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, garlic, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to chill.
2. Put the flour into a shallow bowl. Moisten your hands with water and divide the meat mixture into 20 even portions; roll portions into meatballs. Roll each meatball in flour, shake off the excess, and transfer to a baking sheet.
3. Heat ½ cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown half the meatballs in the skillet, 10–12 minutes; transfer to a plate. Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs, leaving the oil and caramelized bits in the skillet.
4. Make the sauce: Heat the skillet (with the reserved oil) over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, onions, leeks, and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 12–15 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the stock and wine, raise the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, 12–14 minutes. Let cool and discard the bay leaf.
5. Purée the sauce in a blender in batches. Return the sauce to the skillet along with the meatballs and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce is thickened and the meatballs are cooked through, 16–18 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide between 6-inch or 7-inch cazuelas (earthenware dishes) or bowls to serve.
Golden Potato Latkes
Potato pancakes, bolstered with grated onion and fried until crisp and lightly browned, have held a central place at Jewish holiday tables since the mid-nineteenth century, a time when the potato was becoming a widespread crop in Eastern Europe. They remain a beloved standby at Hanukkah, in particular. Sour cream or apple-sauce, both popular accompaniments, balance the latkes’ rich flavor.
1 medium yellow onion
3 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2½ lbs.), peeled Kosher salt, to taste
6 tbsp. minced fresh chives
3 tbsp. plain matzo meal
2 large eggs, lightly beaten Freshly ground white pepper, to taste Canola oil, for frying Sour cream or applesauce, for serving
Serves 6
1. Working over a bowl, grate some of the onion, followed by some of the potatoes, on the large-hole side of a box grater. Repeat until all the vegetables are shredded.
2. Sprinkle the potato mixture with salt and transfer to a sieve set over a bowl. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the mixture, allowing it to collect in the bottom of the bowl. Transfer the potato mixture to another bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap; set aside. Set the reserved potato liquid aside to let the milky white starch settle. Pour off the liquid from the starch. Transfer the starch to the potato mixture along with the chives, matzo meal, eggs, and pepper. Gently mix.
3. Pour oil into a skillet to a depth of ¼ inch and heat over medium-high heat. Working in small batches, form the potato mixture into balls, using about ¼ cup of the mixture for each, and place them in the oil. Flatten each