Mexican Meatballs with Roasted Garlic, Chipotle, and Tomatillo Sauce
The best American name for this vegetable would probably be “Mexican green tomato”, but they actually taste nothing like regular tomatoes, In fact, the tomatillo is not a tomato at all. The tomatillo has a tart, lemony flavor that is enhance when cooked (especially roasted) and is an excellent base for salsas. While salsa (salsa verde) is the most popular way to enjoy tomatillo, they can be used in other ways. Tomatillos contain high amounts of vitamin A&C. Tomatillos are our #2 sales item!
Ingredients:
1 lb tomatillos, husks removed and washed
1 small white onion, quartered
1 small white onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, peels left intact
2 chipotles (rehydrated in hot water and seeded if you prefer less spicy)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup beef broth
1 lb ground beef
1/4 lb chorizo, crumbled
3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Place the onion quarters, tomatillos, and unpeeled garlic on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast the vegetables until they begin to blacken and blister, about 35-40 minutes. Squeeze the garlic from the peels and discard the peels. Place the vegetables in a blender along with the beef broth, chipotles, and 1/2 tsp salt. Process until smooth. Pour the sauce into a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more salt to taste.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, chorizo, breadcrumbs, milk, eggs, oregano, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Using your hands, knead the mixture until thoroughly combines. Form the meat mixture into 1-inch balls, flatten them and place a piece of hard-boiled egg in the center, and close the meat around it to form back into a ball. Repeat for all meatballs. Makes about 30 meatballs.
Heat some vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and fry the meatballs on all sides until brown. Transfer the meatballs to paper towels to drain the grease. Pour the sauce into the large skillet and nestle the meatballs in the sauce. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add a little more beef broth as needed to thicken the sauce.
Serve with your choice of sides.
From daringourmet.com