I know it is way more fun to have a photo of the dish so you can see what it looks like - or supposed to look like, but I didn't take one. I don't know why either! So, the photo above is robbed from the cookbook. Sorry! I have made it many times, and made it this past week when the family was in town. It's not too difficult and makes a great left over for breakfast, especially because of the sauce. The recipe that I have is out of my cookbook, Fresh Mexican by Monica Medin-Mora and Angeles Ayala. I have made this recipe to their exact specifications, but the recipe that I am going to post here is an easier and less labor intensive version.
Ingredients:
Meat Balls
8 oz lean ground pork
8 oz lean ground beef
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg
salt and pepper
Chipotle Sauce
3 Chipotle Chili's in Adobo and 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
5 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
First, make the meat balls. Mix the ground meats, onion, garlic, egg, and salt and pepper (I use a couple of pinches of each) in a bowl. Shape the mixture into chestnut-size balls. In a deep skillet, on medium high heat, brown the meat balls on all sides. You will most likely have to do it in 2 batches. You do not want to crowd them in the pan so that they can evenly brown. Once all the meat balls have browned, set them aside and discard the oil from the skillet.
Once you have discarded the oil from the skillet, start the sauce. Continue to keep the heat on medium high and add to the same skillet, the tomatoes, onion, garlic. The juice from the tomatoes will deglaze the skillet and grab the brown bits from the meat. Cover and let simmer for about 5 min, stirring occasionally. While the tomatoes are simmering, add to a blender, 3 chiptole chilies, 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce, and 1/2 cup of chicken stock and blend till smooth. Once the tomato mixture has softened, add the tomato mixture and another 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the blender with the chipotle sauce still it and blend till it is a smooth sauce. Add the sauce back to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, thyme sprig, and bay leaf to the sauce and stir so it a nice "saucy" consistency. Lastly, add the meatballs back to the sauce. Give it a gentle stir so that the meatballs are covered with the sauce. Cover the skillet and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with rice, tortillas and pinto beans. It also makes for a tasty left over with eggs!
Enjoy!
