Albondigas

Recipe from Rick Bayless

Ingredients:

3 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, peeled (divided use. I only use 2 since the fire roasted tomatoes I use have garlic in them)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
salt
1.25 lbs ground pork (pretty sure I just buy the 1lb package and it works fine)
1/2 cup (loosely packed) coarsely chopped mint leaves, plus extra for garnish if you want a pretty picture (Chelsie). I almost always use dried (3 tsp), for cost purposes.
29 oz. (two 14.5 oz cans) fire roasted tomatoes
1-2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, stemmed and seeded (use 1 if you don't want it as spicy as mine was).
1-2 Tbsp. chipotle canning sauce (again 1 if you don't want it spicy)
1 tsp dried oregano
About 1 cup chicken broth


Directions:Turn on the oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, combine the bacon and garlic clove.
Process until finely chopped. Add the eggs, bread crumbs and 1 tsp. salt. Pulse several times to combine thoroughly, then add the pork and mint. Pulse the machine a few more times until everything is well combined-but not at all processed into a paste. remove the blade.

With wet hands, form the meat into 16 plum-size spheres, spacing them out in a 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake until lightly browned (they'll be browned more underneath than on top), about 15 minutes.
While the meatballs are baking, combine the tomatoes, with their juice,

chipotles, canning sauce, oregano, the remaining garlic cloves (cut in half) and 1/2 tsp salt in a blender or food processor. Process to a smooth paste.



When the meatballs are ready, spoon off any rendered fat from the baking dish, then pour on the tomato mixtures, covering the meatballs evenly. Bake until the sauce looks like tomato paste, 15 to 20 minutes.

Pull the meatballs out of the oven and pour the chicken broth into the pan (evenly, once again).

Divide the meatballs among the dinner plates and spoon the sauce over the meatballs. Garnish with avocado and extra mint leaves. Eat with corn tortillas.

Rick (te he) also says parsley, thyme (not too much), sage and basil are all delicious in meatballs.