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Albóndigas II

A Spanish meatball dish simmered in wine and onion sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Albóndigas II

Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the meatball mixture

  1. Place the mince in a large bowl.

  2. In a separate smaller bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in the milk.

  3. Add two eggs to the breadcrumb mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon.

  4. Smash the garlic with a pestle and mortar.

  5. Chop the parsley.

  6. Add the parsley and garlic to the breadcrumb blend, and mix until smooth.

  7. Combine the breadcrumb mixture with the mince, stirring until fully blended.

Shape and brown the meatballs

  1. Form the meatballs by taking one or two tablespoons of the mixture and rolling into a ball.

  2. Shake each ball in a teacup to make it round and compact.

  3. Coat the balls in flour.

  4. Heat a deep pan and fill it halfway with olive oil.

  5. When the oil is very hot, brown the meatballs in the pan, turning them until browned.

Make the sauce and simmer

  1. In a separate pot, heat a one-inch deep layer of olive oil.

  2. Finely dice the onions and add them to the hot pot.

  3. Fry the onions until golden, then add a tablespoon of flour.

  4. Stir in additional flour to thicken before adding liquid.

  5. Add the white wine and 1 cup of water.

  6. Keep the pot on high heat, then add the browned meatballs, adding more water if needed.

  7. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for 30 minutes.

  8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  9. Serve the meatballs with a full-bodied Spanish wine.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1373Calories
82 gProtein
57 gFat
121 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 15 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Vealnot in our table0
Meatballnot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,308 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Clove + parsleytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Mince
Provides the main body and meaty texture of the meatballs.
Eggs
Bind the mixture so the meatballs hold their shape while cooking.
Breadcrumbs
Soaked in milk, they keep the meatballs tender and moist rather than dense.
Flour
Coating helps the meatballs brown, and flour thickens the sauce.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it fries, adding flavour to the sauce.
White wine
Adds acidity and aroma to the sauce as it simmers.

The step that matters

Browning the meatballs in very hot oil. Searing in very hot oil builds a browned crust through the Maillard reaction, adding flavour and helping the meatballs hold their shape. Crowding or cool oil would steam them instead.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, milk, egg, clove, flour, parsley, pepper):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, milk, egg, clove, flour, parsley, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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