Source: Chef Rick Bayless / Mexican Everyday
This is a go-to recipe in our house! I like to serve it over quinoa to round out the meal and soak up the delicious sauce!
Ingredients
3 slices bacon in 1-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 large eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt
1 1/4 pounds ground pork
1/2 cup (loosely packed) coarsely chopped mint leaves
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained of all but 1/4 cup juice
1 or 2 cans chipotle chilies in adobo, stemmed, seeded and sauce reserved
1 teaspoon dried oregano
about 1 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth
Directions
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, combine bacon and 1 garlic clove. Process until
finely chopped. Add eggs, bread crumbs and 1 teaspoon salt. Pulse several times until well combined but not a paste. Remove meat
from processor.
With wet hands, form meat into about 16 plum-size balls and space them out in a 13" x 9" baking dish. Bake until lightly browned, about 15
minutes.
While meatballs bake, combine tomatoes, 1/4 cup tomato juice, chipotles, 1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle sauce, oregano, remaining garlic cloves (cut
in half) and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor. Process to a smooth puree.
When meatballs are ready, spoon off rendered fat from baking dish, then pour tomato mixture on top, covering meatballs evenly. Bake until
sauce has thickened somewhat, 15 to 20 minutes.
Heat broth in a small saucepan. Divide meatballs among four dinner plates, leaving sauce behind. Stir enough broth into sauce to give
it a spoonable consistency. Taste and season with salt, if necessary. Spoon sauce over meatballs, decorate with extra mint leaves,
if you wish, and serve.
Read More...
