A Spanish tapas of uncertain origin although many point out the chiringuitos of Barceloneta as its origin.
La Barceloneta is a coastal and humble neighborhood of Barcelona, on whose beaches there were beach bars for decades that evolved into restaurants, some of which reached enormous quality. The Coastal Law forced their closure and some no longer reopened while others did so in other locations, becoming mere restaurants specializing in fish.
The bombs are a potato paste frying that surrounds a heart of meat, watered by various sauces, usually a garlic mayonnaise (a simile of aioli) and another spicy. There was a time when the bars of Barcelona struggled to offer the spiciest bomb by challenging customers to dare to eat them in one bite without blinking, so too spicy often distorted the tapas. In the recipe that I give you below there is spicy but it is acceptable.
INGREDIENTS :
For the lactonese garlic sauce (pseudo-aioli):
- Half a cup of sunflower oil (100 ml)
- A quarter cup of whole milk (50 ml)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Half a teaspoon of salt
- Lemon juice
For the hot sauce (ma non tropo):
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of hot paprika
- Half a tablespoon of white wheat flour
- 1 cup (200 ml) chicken or meat broth
For the bombs:
- 400 grams (14 oz) of potatoes
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) of minced meat (pork or pork / beef, to taste)
- Half a cup of white wine (100 ml)
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon of wheat flour
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
For the frying:
- Sunflower oil (or other kind, like corn, canola etc)
- 1 egg
- White flour flour
- Bread crumbs
- Salt
We started by making the pseudo aioli. To do this, we pour the milk and oil into the glass of the smoothie, as well as half a teaspoon of salt and two peeled garlic cloves and without the inner green germ. With the mixer still on the bottom, beat until the sauce curdles. Then we can lift and make an up and down movement to crush the garlic well. We taste, rectify the salt and add lemon juice if it is to our liking.
Next we make the brava sauce. To do this we heat the tablespoon of oil on the fire and when it is hot - about to smoke - we remove the pan. Then we add the half tablespoon of white flour and work it so that it is well toasted (it will turn brown). Next we pour the hot paprika and add the chicken or meat broth, stirring well. We return to the fire and while stirring over very low heat we wait until it thickens, but not too much.
In a frying pan with a splash of olive oil, fry the onion and the garlic clove - without the germ - finely chopped until the onion is transparent. Then we add the minced meat and fry it until it is well done, seasoning it. We pour the wine and let it cook until it evaporates. That will improve the taste.
We boil the potatoes with the skin. When they are cooked we let them cool and peel. Then we mash them with a fork - or using a food mill - and then we add a beaten egg and a tablespoon of white flour. When we have a homogeneous paste, we mix it with the meat. If it's too runny, you can add a little more flour, but sparingly.
We make balls the size of a walnut or maybe a little bigger. We pass them through white flour, then through an egg and finally through breadcrumbs. We fry them one by one in sunflower oil not very hot until they are golden brown.
They are served first bathed in the brava sauce and then the aioli. One of those elaborate tapas that you always want to repeat.
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