Chef's Corner: Minced to goodness

A flavoursome Spanish chicken recipe

Spanish meatballs at Pintxo, Gurgaon. Photo: Special Arrangement

There is now an increased interest in Spanish cuisine in India. The proof is in the mushrooming of a number of standalone Spanish restaurants in our cities including Delhi-NCR. Here is a Spanish meatball recipe sent in by Sushmit Daniels, Executive Chef of Pintxo — Tapas Restaurant, Gurgaon. It is a chicken recipe wrapped in a lightly spiced tomato sauce. With garlic bread, it makes a complete meal.

Spanish Meatballs

Ingredients

1/2 kg minced chicken

1 cup bread crumbs

7-8 cloves garlic

2 medium sized white onions, chopped

1/4 cup grated Bocchini cheese

1/4 cup or less mascarpone cheese

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1 egg

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 can of 28 ounces whole tomatoes in puree

Method

Sauté the chopped onions and garlic in olive oil. Add chicken mince to the sautéed onions and garlic. Add seasoning and cook till tender.

Place the mince with bread crumbs, Bocchini cheese and mascarpone cheese in a blender and grind. Shape the mixture into balls and keep aside

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil, add tomatoes and puree, and 2 cloves garlic, bring to a boil. Add seasoning and little oregano cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

Take a pan and add some tomato sauce. Then add 4 chicken meat balls and cook in the sauce for about 5 minutes.

Plate the meat balls with some tomato sauce and top with some garlic mayo and a slice of garlic bread.

(Sushmit Daniels is the Executive Chef at Pintxo -Tapas Restaurant, DLF Galleria Market, Gurgaon. Chef Daniels comes with 15 years of experience in the kitchen and has worked with the Sheraton group in Bangalore and Agra. Formerly, he was associated with Indian restaurants like Tabla, Babu and Moksha in New York City.)