Diana Kennedy's Meatballs in Tomato and Chipotle Sauce

I am a changed woman. I spent four days in Mexico last week and had nothing less than an epiphany while I was there.

What was it, you ask? Well, it turns out that I adore Mexican food.

Yes, me! The girl who hates cilantro and always wrinkles her nose when her boyfriend suggests Mexican food, so much so that he's stopped asking and only occasionally complains about it. The girl who never understood why burritos and tacos and enchiladas draped with strings of goopy cheese and stuffed with pallid bean mush were practically the national food for kids of her generation. The girl who tried very hard to be a good sport and find something - anything - to like about the Mexican food available to her and who finally just threw in the towel and resigned herself to disliking it - an unpopular stance at best.

The truth is, I still don't like the Mexican food in New York or that stuff listed above - I'm still convinced it's not worth my time or my money. But the Mexican food in Mexico? The flaky, fragrant tortillas, the myriad salsas glittering red, green, pink and burgundy in the sun, the chewy, lean meat, charred and blistered on an open grill, the pure, clean flavors, the freshness and the spice - oh, the blessed, blessed spice - well, like I said, it was almost a religious experience.

And. The moment I realized I had fallen, hook, line and sinker: lost in thought while chewing on a mouthful of salad that topped a crunchy tostada, I crunched down on a cilantro leaf and it was like sunlight bursting through a shaded glen or something - suddenly, I got it! Bright and earthy at the same time, the flavor exploded in my mouth, tying all the other things together - the crispy tortilla, the unctuous crema, the spicily dressed salad. For those of you who know just how much and how long I've loathed the stuff, unhappily so, you can only imagine my glee. If I hadn't been sitting at the table with people to whom I couldn't admit my sudden discovery for fear of sounding like an utter fool, I would jumped up right then and there and shouted to the heavens, "Cilantrooooooooooo!"

Yeah. It was a momentous couple of days, for sure. Now that I'm back home again, I've done nothing but pore over the few Mexican recipes I have in my house and tried to find somewhere in Queens (there must be somewhere, right? A taco truck, a hand-pulled cart?) that will sell me the kind of food I ate in a little dot of a town in Baja, at an outdoor stand where a bowful of roasted jalapenos cooled next to the blackened grill and our tacos came filled with chopped, grilled meat, a shower of diced white onions and chopped cilantro, and a fluid avocado salsa, unlike anything I'd ever seen or tasted before.

For Ben, this conversion is like the Second Coming.

Last night, I triumphantly held aloft a long-clipped recipe from the LA Times for Diana Kennedy's meatballs that I'd been hoarding all by its lonesome, since it's one of the only Mexican recipes I've clipped over the years. The meatballs are made from a flavorful mix of pork and beef and stuffed to the gills with chopped zucchini and onion - the meat barely binds the vegetables together, making for light and flavorful little albondigas. Even better, the meatballs aren't first seared in a pan, like so many polpette of my youth, but rather braised directly in a simmering sauce. It makes for an easier clean-up and lighter, brighter-tasting meatballs.

Better still, the sauce: plum tomatoes whizzed together with a few canned chipotles (my mother bought us an immersion blender while she was visiting - thanks, again! - and that thing is a powerhouse. I didn't even bother peeling my tomatoes and they liquefied in a matter of seconds) and gently simmered with some olive oil and chicken stock. That stuff is addictive - I could have eaten just the sauce on rice for dinner. Except not really, because those meatballs were completely delicious - spiced with restraint, tender and sweet from the braising, the perfect tasty foil to the spicy sauce. I gave the leftovers to Ben today and am regretting it wholly.

Oh, Mexico. I'm sorry it's taken me so long. But I'm here now! Consider this my first entry into a whole new world I cannot wait to discover. I haven't yet bought my own cilantro, but that day is coming and soon.

Meatballs in Tomato and Chipotle Sauce
Serves 6 to 8 (about 34 meatballs)

Meatballs
12 ounces ground pork
12 ounces ground beef
1 medium zucchini
8 peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1. Place the ground pork and beef in a food processor and pulse several times. Transfer to a large bowl. Trim the ends of the zucchini and chop finely. Add to the bowl.

2. Finely grind the peppercorns and cumin seeds in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and add to the meat. Add the oregano, eggs, onion and salt and gently use your hands or a spatula to thoroughly combine all the ingredients.

3. Gently form the mixture into 1 1/2 -inch meatballs. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate while making the sauce.

Sauce and finish
2 pounds tomatoes
2 to 4 chipotle chiles en adobo, more or less to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup chicken broth
Salt

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Core the tomatoes and place them in the boiling water. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the tomatoes and cool for a few minutes.

2. Process the tomatoes and chipotle chiles in a blender or food processor until smooth.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the tomato sauce. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth. When the sauce comes back to a simmer, add the meatballs.

4. Cover the pan and simmer the meatballs over low heat until they are cooked through, about 50 minutes. Adjust the seasoning by tasting and adding salt just before the end of the cooking time. This dish can be prepared a day ahead or can be frozen and reheated.

Comments

[ann]

YAY!!! You can come hang out and do the Sunset Park taco crawl with me now! Good Mexican food is next to godliness. Welcome to the club!

[Cicely]

Hi Luisa,
I felt just the same as you until moving to LA. Then I discovered I love Mexican food and hate gringo chow! You should try shrimp albondigas. I had some in Puerta Vallarta once and was swept away. LAT ran a recipe a few years ago that made it into their annual "Best Of" list.

[maia]

Yay!!

Now do yourself a favor and pick up any of Rick Bayless's books. You'll be in H-E-A-V-E-N. I promise.

[radish]

This is wonderful that you like cilantro! I've been a devotee of the little herb for years! But I do agree, the Mexican food in New York is simply not Mexican food. It's just something else. And the high end Mexican food isn't it either. I remember trying, for the first time, the Mexican food in Orange County, which is as authentic as it'll get in the US and suddenly hearing angels sing, music sound, and rainbows around me appear. It was something akin to your religious experience above, an epiphany of sorts! I think that with a bit of effort, we can overcome this problem in the city -- we'll just have to make our own!!

[Marsha]

I absolutely LOVE your description of your cilantro revelation! I used to despise the stuff--nasty and overwhelming. But you've pretty well captured my own a-ha moment, though my special snippet of cilantro came in some Thai Drunken Noodles. Now I can't get enough of it. Congratulations on your Mexican epiphany!

Ann, I don't know from Sunset Park, where are good tacos there?

[Kevin]

You mean Taco Bell didn't get Mexican food right?

My mom's about to remarry to a guy born in Arizona who grew up eating home-cooked Mexican food weekly. He has given me a similar gift of culinary epiphany as the one you refer to. My biggest 'aha' moment was learning how to properly leverage the virtues of lime. Mmm. I have to go make some Mexican food...

[deb]

Whoa, so you're saying if I hope over the border to Baja and eat from a street cart that cilantro might no longer taste like dirt? I must investigate this. For the cilantro, of course. These meatballs sound amazing. I've been looking for a good recipe since Bayless tried to kill me with a mis-type.

[Lydia]

I'm so glad you've fallen in love with Mexican food -- the food in Mexico can be transcendent! My epiphany was in Oaxaca, eating a really amazing mole for the first time -- it made everything I'd had before taste like Hershey's chocolate syrup instead of a rich and complex sauce. Diana Kennedy's recipes are the best.

[Victoria]

Saturday night for dinner I had my favorite Delia Smith meatball goulash. The tomato sauce was made fresh from fabulous tomatoes that were amazingly still available at the farmstand. It was perfect - the weather had the slightest nip in the air; the sky had not one cloud; and the sun was bright. I ate leftovers for TWO meals yesterday and am still licking my lips, only sorry I don't have any more for tonight. So next weekend I am trying this recipe - for sure. I too have never developed a taste for Mexican food, but this sounds absolutely delicious. My cousin is coming from Illinois for a four-day weekend. I plan to make sure we make merry and eat and drink well. Maybe, just maybe, it will be warm enough to have the last margarita of the season, and it will be good, thanks to Mary's brother Ken, whose recipe I used all summer. Another good one, Luisa. Thanks.

[Luisa]

Ann - taco crawl? Sunset Park? Is this where I can finally find the good stuff? Sign me up, seriously.

Cicely - I've searched high and low since seeing your comment, but can't find that recipe online anywhere. (Sob!) Any chance you have it clipped?

Maia - hooray indeed! Is there any Bayless book in particular that you recommend?

Olga - hee, I liked your description of discovering good Mexican food. And yes, I think you're right about making our own (though Ann's taco crawl has me pretty hungry, too).

Marsha - how funny that you had the same experience!

Kevin - yes! Limes! They're genius, aren't they? I particularly enjoyed them squeezed over our roadside taco last week (I copied the Mexican I was eating with, surreptitiously).

Deb - oh, I remember that meatball recipe. Anyway, the truly transcendent tacos were actually served at a staff meal at the place where I was working and the cilantro epiphany came at a similarly chi-chi spot (though it was just a lowly tostada that sported the cilantro that time) - the anonymous little taco stand in the middle of nowhere was delicious, but not the A-HA! of the other meals. What's my point? I've lost it. Anyway, my friend, there's hope. Cilantro may still come alive for you, one day! :)

Lydia - I cannot wait to go back to Mexico for more food, and I cannot wait to try more of Diana's recipes. Do you have a particular favorite of her books?

Victoria - I think some margaritas and these meatballs (I served mine with plain rice to soak up the lovely sauce and steamed zucchini for the cooling effect) would be a lovely meal with your cousin. Enjoy!

[EB]

I had the reverse problem. As a born and bred California girl-- I could pop jalapenos whole by the age of 5, my blood runneth over with Tapatio hot sauce and my stomach was always full of a fresh tortilla or a tres leche cake from the corner market. Then... horrors... I moved to Manhattan. A place where the one 'burrito joint' near my apt. served a "San Francisco style" burrito filled with spinach and potatoes... no really. After moving back to here -- on the way home from the airport actually--I stopped for some fresh carnitas tacos and sighed. Welcome to the happy happy land of Mexican food love! We welcome you with open arms!!

[amy]

benvenuta nel club!

[Andrea]

I was so glad to read about your Mexican food epiphany--the next time you make a visit to Los Angeles, you will have many, many options for fresh, well-prepared Mexican food! ...I will have to look for that shrimp albondigas recipes mentioned above as well, it sounds like it must be a good one.

Oh and your cilantro revelation, almost equally as wonderful! I just had a conversation with a friend over the weekend, about how she does not enjoy the stuff, and that she doesn't believe it's one of those tastes that can be changed over time.. I will have to forward this blog post to her!

[Mercedes]

Oh, I'm so happy for you (I feel like this should be said over things like engagements and promotions, not tortillas). ANyway, good Mexican food is amazing, my absolute favorite thing is tamales, a must-have on Christmas eve.
I've always liked cilantro, but I understood how people could not like it. The problem is that cilantro goes bad very quickly, and when it goes bad it takes on an awful soapy taste. We grow cilantro in a pot, and I've used it in all sorts of dishes served to "cilantro-haters,"who never noticed, because the fresh stuff is good.
I have a feeling there are more Mexican recipes in your future, maybe enchiladas verde?

[Tea]

Yay for cilantro! That IS a conversion. Though I have heard of a few other passionate cilantro haters who eventually made the switch...

Now you're primed for a west coast trip, methinks:-)

[maia]

I have Authentic Mexican, and it's great. Very comprehensive and true to its Mexican roots (the pozole rojo calls for half a pig's head), though the recipes are all pretty involved.. For more "weeknight" type recipes, I think that Mexican Everyday is good. My sister has that one and likes it. My mom has One Plate at a Time, which sits somewhere in the middle between the other two.

[Janine]

Excellent! I'd read in your previous posts about your aversion to Mexican, and I must say that I pitied you a wee bit. Now, having been to Mexico, you perhaps understand why :).

[Hot Tub Johnny]

Jackson Heights in Queens is the most diverse neighborhood in terms of ethnic eats and has some amazing Mexican Street food. Just walk up and down Roosevelt Avenue and try the differet taco trucks, tamale stands, or other street vendors. Taqueria Coatzingo (a sit down restaurant)is very authentic and gets mentioned alot as best Mexican in the city. If you want a real treat - go to the soccer fields in Red Hook, Brooklyn on the weekends. Vendors set up tents during games and sell the most amazing Latin American foods. Hurry, the season ends Oct. 21st.

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

Bienvenidos a la cucina Mexicana! And I'm so happy for you that you finally understand cilantro--it makes so many dishes come to life! This salsa is singing my name--I can't wait to try it.

[Melissa]

hi-my name is Melissa. My mother in law is Sue over at Country Pleasure’s…I’m looking for new blog friends. I’ve been blogging for a few months…I have a new blog-www.family-fixins.blogspot.com and my regular blog wwwmyblessedworld.blogspot.com. Visit me at both and pass me onto your friends. I’d love to have more friends out here in blog land! I don’t have too many to chat with!

[AA]

Do you think you could use canned tomatoes and how many?

[Julie]

If ever in East Harlem, try the tacos at Taco Mix on 116th St. They are simple and taste like home cooking. The Al Pastor is great. I'm very glad you got over your aversion to cilantro. I love it but used to think it tasted like soap. Vietnamese food is what turned it around for me.

[Luisa]

EB - thank you!! :) Yeah, so will someone clear up the mystery of bad Mexican food in New York? I just don't get it. Every other food is represented here so deliciously!

Amy - grazie, cara!

Andrea - you know, up until last week I wouldn't have believed this kind of conversion either... :) Can't wait for my next trip westward.

Mercedes - hmm, now that's an idea, growing it myself. And I like that you eat Mexican on Christmas Eve. How did that tradition come about?

Tea - It really did feel like I was discovering some long-held secret or something. Ha!

Maia - thank you so much for these recommendations.

Janine - I do, I do... :)

HT Johnny - perfect, I plan to do exactly that - go on a little walking tour of Roosevelt Avenue, this time focusing on tacos instead of curries. And glad to hear about the Taqueria, someone else mentioned that to me recently.

Lisa - gracias!

AA - you certainly could, though to be honest, I think you'd expend as much effort opening the can of tomatoes as you would blitzing them (cored) in a blender. But anyway, I'd buy a 28-oz can of peeled plum tomatoes and fish out the six biggest, plumpest ones and use them (pureed).

Julie - thank you for the recommendation! I can't wait to try this place.

[Mercedes]

Having tamales on Christmas eve is a major Mexican tradition. There are lots of tamale making parties leading up to the holiday because it's so labor intensive. My (totally not Mexican) family adopted this tradition years ago by way of my uncle who lives in Texas, and now we can't have Christmas eve without them. Sometimes we order them from Berryhill in Houston.

[stickygooeycreamychewy]

Those meatballs look terrific! I have got to make them. Being Italian, I never think of meatballs in any other kind of ethnic cuisine.

I agree with you on the subject of "Ameri-Mexican" restaurants. I've never been a fan. It wasn't until I was in New Mexico a few years ago that I learned what I was missing. I never knew it could be so good!

[annie]

I first found your website on Sunday. I was so thrilled with the recipes, I've forwarded the URL to friends without trying them first. Then you posted this on Monday, and I had to smile. Mexican food is life for my family, but then we live in California. And, of course, cilantro is the herb that makes the dish.

Come out to California to eat this wonderful herb. It's not only the core of a lot of Mexican dishes but also so many Vietnamese and even North African foods. Maybe with your next visit to Mexico you'll learn to appreciate the offensive herb epazote.

I look forward to visiting your site often.

[Sarah H]

Try Rick Bayless' cookbooks. They're all good and all tasty.

[mimi]

Good for you girl!!! Looking forward to more yummy stuff -- loved reading about this revelation!

[Hillary]

I thought I only liked meatballs when they're of the sweet and sour variety, but these look quite delicious!

[mindy]

Sounds yummy. Rick Bayless also has a recipe for Chipotle Meatballs that are a little different, but quite delicious as well. I will just have to make them side by side and have a taste testing--there are worse things one can do!!!

[Kay]

Welcome to the world of Mexican food lovers! I grew up eating fresh flour tortillas made by my mother so I am a snob when it comes to Mexican food. Taco Bell grosses me out six ways to Sunday (or would that be Domingo?). I'm happy you are no longer anti-cilantro. Hey, when you have cilantro leftover and you don't want more Mexican food, use it to make cilantro jalapeño hummus. Mmmmm.

[Luisa]

Mercedes - I love that your family has adopted this tradition. So so cute.

Stickygooeycreamychewy (whew!) - isn't it a crime, how bad American Mexican food is? I feel like this must be how people felt 30 years ago when they ate in Italian restaurants (maybe 30 is being generous).

Annie - welcome! I'm so glad you stumbled here and like what you see. Hope you'll stick around ;) As for epazote, well, one thing at a time! I'm still wrapping my head around cilantro and not loathing it ;)

Sarah - yes, ma'am! I'm on the case. Actually, a fairy godmother is...

Mimi - thank you - I cannot wait to get cooking.

Hillary - sweet and sour meatballs?? Please tell me more...

Mindy - I think I remember those meatballs, they were in the NYT ages ago, in fact I think Deb at Smitten Kitchen tried them once and burned her tongue off (something about a recipe misprint)...

Kay - thank you! I'm so glad to be here. Yum, fresh homemade tortillas? That sounds like a nice thing to know how to make. Did your mother teach you?

[Shaun]

Luisa - I know that I'm posting this comment a bit late, especially since you've probably dealt with the ephiphany by now and had loads of cilantro. Now that I have moved back to New Zealand, I have found that it is Mexican food that I miss the most. I've had it at all sorts of places: friends' homes, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, nueva cocina restaurants...I see someone has already referred you to Rick Bayless, but I am reiterating his/her suggestion, especially the cookbook "Mexican Everyday." It is not filled with recipes pretending to be Mexican; they are seeded in Bayless' real experiences with the country. I have never had a better spatch-cocked chicken...I wrote a little something about it on my blog, if you are interested: http://winterskieskitchenaglow.blogspot.com/2007/07/7-random-cookery-books.html

[Julianna]

this is such a wonderful moment -- congratulations :)

it makes me sad what most people think of mexican food. if you are curious, try the food of the yucatan region of mexico as well -- full of fresh seafood as well as amazing influences from lebanese and mediterranean cooking. check out A Yucatan Kitchen, one of my favorite mexican cookbooks and a great summary of yucatecan recipes. the author spent time with the mayan women who have passed down these recipes for generations.

[Luisa]

Shaun - thanks for the recommendation! That book is swiftly up in the ranks to be my most coveted book these days. Can't wait to check it out, and also read more about this spatch-cocked chicken! (Love that term)

Julianna - well, thank you! :) And for the tip about the book - I'll certainly be checking it out soon.

[Chris]

Hey, I just made a seafood albondigas soup last night -- the meatballs were incredibly delicate and tender. I'd be interested in finding that LAT recipe as well!

http://www.weheartfood.com/2008/01/seafood-albondigas-soup.html

[Nora]

How many people are there hateing mexican food made out of Mexico?
All of them should realize that they can not hate it if they dont
come to Mexico and taste it!
I am mexican and of course love my country and mexican cook.
Please excuse my English I try!
My blog is about mexican food made at home COMIDA 100% CASERA
CHEERS!
DO YOU LIKE?

[Elizabeth]

This recipe is fantastic. I made it last week and it surpassed my already high expecations of how good it would be. After the meatballs were gone, there was some sauce left over. I cooked pinto beans in it, then added some ground pork, and that too was unbelievably good. This recipe is definitely worth trying.

[Kim]

Silly question, what is 2 to 4 chipotle chiles en adobo? Is it peppers in a can? Can it be found in a regular grocery store?

[Lenetta @ Nettacow]

Yes, Mexican food is so different! Though I must admit that upon returning from both of my month-long trips to Mexico, the first thing I wanted to eat when I came back was Taco John's. (Hint - that little fast food chain started in Cheyenne, WY. I never said it was authentic, I said it was GOOD. :>))

I'm intrigued to try this - I linked to it on my weekly roundup, the post is under my name. Thanks!!

PS - Kim, if you come back, chipotles are indeed canned chile peppers, smoked jalapenos if I remember right. I can get them in the Mexican food aisle of my very Nebraska small town grocery store, so I'm sure you can find them where ever you are. :>)