The Spaniard

Name: The Spaniard
Yield: Makes about 2 dozen 1 1/2-inch meatballs
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 pound ground pork; 1/2 pound dry spanish chorizo, finely diced; 1/2 pound manchego cheese, finely diced; 3 cups cooked long-grain white rice; 2 large eggs; 1/2 cup bread crumbs; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; 1 teaspoon salt

January 24, 2012

Here earthy ingredients from sunny Spain come together for a richly flavored meatball. A sharp Manchego sheep’s milk cheese and paprika-spiced chorizo sausage are mixed with ground pork and just a hint of red pepper flakes and garlic. When rolled into minis, these are a tapas treat. These balls stand up to the Spicy Meat Sauce (page 57) but go just as well with Classic Tomato Sauce (page 56).

Recipe information

Yield
Makes about 2 dozen 1 1/2-inch meatballs

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound ground pork

1/2 pound dry spanish chorizo, finely diced

1/2 pound manchego cheese, finely diced

3 cups cooked long-grain white rice

2 large eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the olive oil into a 9 × 13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
Step 2
Combine the ground pork, chorizo, Manchego, rice, eggs, bread crumbs, tomato paste, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.
Step 3
Roll the mixture into round, golf ball–size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches), making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
Step 4
Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.
Step 5
Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.

Reprinted with permission from The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow with Lauren Deen. Copyright © 2011 by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Daniel Holzman is executive chef at The Meatball Shop. He is an alum of Le Bernadin, San Francisco's Fifth Floor, and Aqua, among other highly acclaimed restaurants. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he received a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation. Michael Chernow runs the front-of-house operations and the beverage program at The Meatball Shop. He has worked extensively in restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, where he earned degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management. He and Holzman met as teenagers when they worked together as delivery boys at the New York vegan restaurant Candle Café. Needless to say, the vegan thing didn't really stick. Lauren Deen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Cook Yourself Thin series and Kitchen Playdates. She is an Emmy award—and James Beard award— winning television producer and director. She is currently executive producer of food(ography) on the Cooking Channel.

TagsMeatball Spanish European Ground Pork Pork Meat Chorizo Sausage Manchego Cheese Dairy Rice Rice & Grains Starter Main Lunch Dinner Dairy Free Nut Free Easy Roast Cookbooks

Recipe information

Ingredients

Preparation

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Recipe notes