Summertime and beach flavors on your table! Make this great Albondigas de Pescado (Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce) with any inexpensive fish.
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Every time I think of Albondigas de Pescado (Fish Balls) I cannot help but think of the lazy days of summer. One of the few things I actually like about the season.
There's a good reason why our national Poet Laureate wrote that ours is "an island under the very trajectory of the sun", which I'm sure is poetry for "it's fricking hot here". This will come as news to nobody.
With summer comes unbearable heat, and merciless humidity. If you're looking for a good summer dish, this is it.
Albondigas de Pescado (Fish Balls) cooks in a very short time, and are easy to make.
About our fishballs recipe
Served with a bit of rice and some fresh salad it makes for a light meal. After all, spending long hours in the kitchen in the summer heat is not really anyone's definition of fun. Fish balls are one of my favorite ways to make fish, and it is also a great way to make the most of inexpensive fish.
This is a very popular dish in Montecristi, where Tía Clara comes from, so this recipe follows quite faithfully the version of her native city.
Albondigas de Pescado Recipe (Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce)
Ingredients
For the fish balls
- 4 slices of day-old bread
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 1 small white onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 sprigs of parsley
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 1/2 lb [0.75 kg] of skinned fish filet (see notes)
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 large white onion , cut into strips
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 4 large tomatoes , cut into cubes
- 1 1/2 bell pepper , cut into strips
- 1 cup of tomato sauce
- 1 cup of water
- 1/2 cup pitted olives (optional)
- 2 sprigs of cilantro
- 3 limes (cut into wedges)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Instructions
For the fish balls
- Pulse the bread in the food processor until it has the texture of coarse sugar. Set aside.
- Mix bell pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, a pinch of pepper and a teaspoon of salt and pulse in the food processor until you obtain a coarse paste. Set aside.
- Cut the fish into cubes and pulse in the food processor until it turns into a uniform paste.
- Mix fish, breadcrumbs and seasoning paste from step 2. Mix well.
- Make the fish paste into balls of about 1 1/2" in diameter. Set aside.
For the sauce
- Heat the oil over low heat.
- Add the onion and cook and stir until it becomes translucent. Add garlic, tomato and bell pepper and cook and stir for a minute over medium heat. Add the tomato sauce, water and olives. Mix well.
- Very gently add the fish balls, making sure they don't break.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for five minutes. Turn the fish balls and simmer covered for another five minutes.
- Sprinkle with the cilantro, season with salt to taste and remove from the heat.
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Hola Clara, We made your sancocho recipe last week and it was a HIT! I want to try making these albondigas. Can I make the albondigas a day or a few hours in advance before I cook it in the sauce?
what if I tried to do it like a soup style what do you think that would be like???not trying to demolish your awesome recipe just thinking on a cold evening would be awesome!!
What if you don't have tomatoes can you just use the tomatoes paste