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Tasty Spanish Meatballs

This recipe for tasty Spanish meatballs is a really easy meal to make when you’ve got everyone coming around for dinner as you can prepare everything in advance. And when everyone arrives, all you have to do is heat it up!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Course Main
Servings 4
Calories 558 kcal
Gluten Free, Kid Friendly

Ingredients
  

Spanish meatballs with cannelini beans

  • 300 g raw chorizo sausage or mince
  • 300 g lean beef mince
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 800 g crushed or chopped tomatoes 2 x 400g cans
  • 1 cup beef or chicken stock
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons smoked paprika
  • ¼ – ½ teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
  • 400 g cannelini or butter beans one can, rinsed and drained
  • 2-3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley chopped, to garnish

Cauliflower parsley mash

  • 400-500 g cauliflower about ½ medium head, chopped
  • 400-500 g agria potatoes peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 small clove garlic very finely minced
  • 1/4 – 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley finely chopped

Instructions
 

  • Snip the ends of the casings of the chorizo sausages and squeeze the soft meat into a mixing bowl. Add beef mince and salt and mix well together with your hands until well combined. Roll heaped tablespoons into balls and set aside on a plate. You should end up with about 18-20 meatballs.
  • Place potatoes and cauliflower in a large pot of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until soft, about 10-12 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, make the sauce for the meatballs. Heat olive oil in a large fry pan or saucepan (with a lid) on medium heat. Cook onion for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add garlic and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, stock, paprika, chilli flakes and thyme. Simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
  • Stir cannelini beans through simmering sauce, then add meatballs (they will need to be quite close to each other so they all fit). Spoon some sauce over them, then cover with a lid and continue to simmer for 5-7 minutes or until meatballs are just cooked through (try not to overcook them, so you keep them moist and juicy – test one by breaking it open).
  • Drain potatoes and cauliflower and mash well with butter, raw garlic and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • To serve, divide mash and meatballs between plates. Spoon over sauce and beans and garnish with more fresh parsley.

Notes

In this recipe I use chorizo mince and beef mince to provide a really tasty Spanish flavour and you won’t need to add any egg, breadcrumbs or flour. If you can’t find chorizo mince, simply squeeze the meat out of the casings from chorizo sausages. The parsley cauliflower mash is a great way to get in extra veges. It also makes a nice, light change from potato mash. Watch my Youtube video below to see how to make this recipe.