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| Mexican Meatballs with Smoky Chipotle Sauce |
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| Mexican Meatballs with Smoky Chipotle Sauce |
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, small dice
2 stalks celery, small dice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 cup stale bread crumbs*
1 (12 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (8 oz) tub Smoky Chipotle sauce from Cinco de Mayo Salsas
For the sides:
Spanish rice
black beans
* I asked Arturo if it would be OK to use store-bought bread crumb, and he said it's better to make your own stale bread crumb. Just cut a few slices of bread into squares (I used 6 regular slices of whole wheat), leave them out for a couple of days until hard, then grind in food processor. (UPDATE 4/14/2012: I recently came across this blog post demonstrating that at least some store-bought, commercial bread does not go stale for a long time, so I'd recommend sticking with something from the bakery.)
Directions:
Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Mix together the first six ingredients (from ground beef to bread crumbs). Form into one-inch balls and bake in a baking dish (a 9 x 13 dish works well). Meanwhile, mix together the chipotle sauce and the tomato sauce. After meatballs have baked for 20-25 minutes, pour sauce over meatballs and continue baking for another 10 minutes.
Serve with spanish rice and whole black beans.
Makes about 16-20 meatballs.
Click here for more recipes using Cinco de Mayo Salsas, available at the Pittsburgh Public Market during the winter and all around town during the farmers market season.
