Origin Of Albondigas

Why the Epicurean Affair is one foodie's favorite spring festival

May is over and so is our season of food festivals. We ate and drank too much at Uncork’d at Caesars Palace, then did it again (for charity) at Taste of the Nation at the Palms. Last week, we closed out the good-spirited gluttony with my personal favorite, the Epicurean Affair, organized by the Nevada Restaurant Association at the Palazzo. Why do I like it so much?

1. It’s drunker. All these events are total boozefests, where your admission fee gets you endless beer, wine and more fruit-infused liquors than you’ll ever want to sample. But EA is serious about getting you buzzed, formatting booths like drink-drink-eat-drink instead of eat-drink-eat-drink. My pick for top cocktail of the night was a fresh, crispy treat made from Absolut’s new OrientApple, which sounds kind of racist for a vodka name.

2. It’s laid back. The third-floor pool is still a fancy spot with the Palazzo, Venetian and Wynn hotel towers spiraling above you. Maybe they weren’t spiraling; maybe I had too much OrientApple. But the vibe is always fun and casual. Perhaps it’s because …

3. There are local restaurants as well as tourist restaurants. At Uncork’d, only Vintner Grill represented off-Strip Vegas. At EA, there were all kinds of familiar foodie faces.

Albóndigas con Salsa de Tomate: Or “Meatballs with Tomato Sauce ...

And this is my family’s version for the “Albóndigas con Salsa de Tomate”. But before all the explanations, it would be interesting to know about the origins of this Spanish word: “albóndigas”. In fact, “albóndiga” comes from the Arabic term “búndiqa” (ball), but at the same time, this last term has its origin in old Greek language.

But let’s come back to our recipe.

Let’s start with the Ingredients:

1/2 Kg. (around 1,10 pounds) minced beef 1 egg 2 garlic cloves ½ onion Parsley 1 slice of bread 2 tablespoons of milk Salt Olive oil 1 cup of Flour Tomato sauce Directions: First, we have to prepare the meatballs mixture, adding the meat (use a big bowl) and then the egg (don’t beat it). On a dish, place the slice of bread and add over it the milk, letting the bread absorb it. Add 2-3 pinches of salt, the garlic cloves, chopped in very small pieces, he parsley and finally the slice of bread, previously covered with milk. Use a fork to completely mix all the ingredients. Let this mixture stand for some 10 minutes. Now, add olive oil (enough to cover meatballs while being fried) in a frying pan and let it heat (medium heat). Meanwhile, place the floor on a dish and take portions of meat mixture and give them a rounded form using 2 tablespoons. Or, if you prefer, shape them with your hands. Roll every meatball on the floor until it is completely covered. The oil shouldn’t be very hot, so you can start frying the meatballs, until they get a brown surface. Anyway, take into account that if the oil is too hot, the meatballs will be take a brown look very soon, but their inside will stay raw. Chop the onion and let it fry (low-heat) in a large sauce pan with 1 table spoon of oil, until it gets transparent. Add the tomato sauce (you can either buy fried tomato sauce or cook your own sauce ) to the fried onion and let it cook for a while. Add the fried meatballs to the tomato sauce, and some water (1/2 glass). Cook low-heat until the tomato sauce becomes thicker, but stirring from time to time, so that it does not stick.

And this is Angeles’ recipe!

If you have children, they will really enjoy this “albóndigas con salsa de tomate”, or easier: “albóndigas con tomate”. And you can even add something they really like... French fries! Yes, they're not very healthy, but from time to time, they won't be a problem for health. You can also try this Italian Meatballs with Tomato Sauce .

Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

Albondigas were, throughout most of history, fare reserved for special occasions . They are typically served in a sauce or with just a squeeze of lemon juice ...

Magic Words, A Dictionary

Facts: This is a spell for clairvoyance in the Balanced Alternative Technologies Multi-User Di- mension.146 Albóndigas Origins: Albóndigas is a Spanish word ...

Eat and be satisfied, a social history of Jewish food

... of a turban and sprinkled with sugar, which is believed to be of Moorish origin. ... Among other items it contained a recipe for making albondigas, ...

Sephardic Flavors, Jewish Cooking of the Mediterranean

Albondigas al buyor are served with a tomato sauce scented with a bit of cinnamon, ter- biyeli uses egg and lemon juice. The plum sauce, of Spanish origin, ...

The Facts on File dictionary of American regionalisms

... albondigas A type of meatball or meatball soup of Spanish origin ... the Southwest. albur A card game of Spanish origin played in the Southwest. alcalde ...