Bean meatballs in a chipotle sauce

Available on almost any menu in Mexico, albondigas are a wonderful comfort food. Typically they are made with pork, but here food writer and baker Jane Mason rustles up a veggie versions with beans and seeds. What makes albondigas captivating is the sauce – in this case a rich chipotle sauce. She suggests serving these as a starter just as they are, or adding a side or rice and some green vegetables to create a main dish. Either way, serve them with her sesame and three chilli sauce – see recipe below.

Try Jane’s recipe for albondigas de frijol en una salsa con chipotle from her latest cookbook – Mexico: The World Vegetarian. 

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Nutrition Facts

Bean meatballs in a chipotle sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 476 Calories from Fat 288

% Daily Value*

Fat 32g49%

Saturated Fat 24g150%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 1mg0%

Sodium 862mg37%

Potassium 923mg26%

Carbohydrates 43g14%

Fiber 11g46%

Sugar 17g19%

Protein 10g20%

Vitamin A 3402IU68%

Vitamin C 29mg35%

Calcium 120mg12%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Bean meatballs in a chipotle sauce

Mexican comfort food

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Resting time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 4

Calories: 476kcal

Author: Jane Mason

Equipment

• Large frying pan
• Food processor
• Saucepan

Ingredients

For the balls:

• 6 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• a pinch of salt plus extra to season
• 1 garlic clove
• 150 g cooked pinto beans
• 150 g cooked alubia or white beans
• 25 g pumpkin seeds dry-roasted
• 20 g dried breadcrumbs or 1 crumbled tostada
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp tamarind paste
• chopped coriander to garnish

For the sauce:

• 3 - 6 canned chipotle adobadas
• 6 tomatoes dry roasted
• 2 garlic cloves dry-rosted then peeled
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds dry-roasted
• 1 tbsp dried oregano or marjoram
• 250 ml vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, and add the onion and pinch of salt. Sauté the onion over a very low heat for a good 5 minutes, until translucent.
• Add the garlic. Sauté for a further 1 to 2 minutes, still over a very low heat, to soften the garlic (take care not to burn it).
• Add all the remaining ball ingredients except the coriander. Stir to combine, then gently fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until warm.
• Scrape everything into a food processor (this works better than the blender) and blitz for a good 3 minutes, scraping down the sides from time to time if necessary, or until reduced to a fine texture.
• Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover and leave for at least one hour or overnight in the fridge to stiffen up.
• To make the sauce, put all the ingredients – starting with 3 chillies – in a blender and blitz to a fine paste. Adjust the salt and taste to test your heat tolerance. This sauce is not supposed to be especially spicy, but you should be able to feel the heat and taste the smokiness of the chipotles. One at a time add further chillies, testing between each addition, until you’re happy with the heat. Press this mixture through a sieve into a saucepan and discard the contents of the sieve.
• When you’re ready to eat, put the pan over a very low heat to gently warm through.
• Make 12–16 equal-sized balls out of the ball mixture. Heat the remaining four tablespoons of oil in a frying pan set over a medium heat. Add the balls in batches, frying each batch for 10 minutes, rolling them around in the pan to keep them round, until cooked through. As each batch is done, pop the balls into the pan with the sauce and keep warm over a very low heat. 
• Divide the balls between 4 serving plates and cover them with sauce. Scatter with chopped coriander and serve with a spicy salsa or sauce of your choice. The sesame and three chilli salsa is great with this.

Nutrition

Calories: 476kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 862mg | Potassium: 923mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 3402IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 5mg

Salsa con ajonjoli y tres chiles 

Not too hot with a rather marvellous, fruity flavour, this is a really versatile salsa prepared with chillies that are typical of Mexico City. The sesame seeds give the salsa a wonderful texture and it is particularly good with roasted vegetables or cheese.

Mexico: The World Vegetarian by Jane Mason (Bloomsbury Absolute, £20) is out now. Photography by Polly Webster.

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