I absolutely love meatballs and my grandmother made the best Colombian-style meatballs I ever had. One of her secrets was to add a little piece of pork belly to the center of the meatballs, which made them incredibly moist, but I prefer to omit the pork belly for health reasons 
. My sister came to visit from Colombia, so we are very excited to eat them.
Enjoy this dish!
Ingredients
(About 4 servings)
Meatballs
½ pound ground pork
½ pound ground beef
1 large egg
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup precooked corn meal (masarepa)
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup chopped onion
1 scallion, chopped
¼ cup red bell pepper
Salt and pepper
Sauce
2 cups hogao
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
¼ cup fresh cilantro
Directions
1. Place the ground beef and pork in a large bowl. Add onions, garlic, scallion, red bell pepper, masarepa, egg, salt and pepper. Mix well using your hands.
2. Form the meatballs and place them on a platter.
3. Place the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the meatballs until well-browned on all sides, about 7 minutes total. Remove the meatballs to a platter lined with paper towels.
4. To make the sauce: Sprinkle in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve into the fat. Pour in the beef broth, and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen the bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer and stir until the liquid is reduced and a sauce starts to form. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the hogao and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Return the meatballs to the sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve over white rice.
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rebecca subbiah
on Sep 11th, 2009
@ 12:03 PM:
oh these look great i get so inspired by your blog, why dont you do a guest post for me on you fav Columbian food? rebeccasubbiah at yahoo dot com
Taste Traveller
on Sep 11th, 2009
@ 12:38 PM:
I love to make meatballs when I have guests over – they’re a great little snack. I’ll try the addition of cooked cornmeal next time- sounds like it helps to add moisture too!
Pam
on Sep 11th, 2009
@ 12:39 PM:
I love meatballs and your’s look really great!
Congrats. on the FFF!
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
on Sep 11th, 2009
@ 1:34 PM:
I would love to try this version of meatballs, they sound delicious! I love the addition of cornmeal.
Sarah Naveen
on Sep 11th, 2009
@ 1:37 PM:
Meat balls looks so yumm Erica!!!
Danielle
on Sep 11th, 2009
@ 11:54 PM:
great, beautiful meatballs! I think I’d skip the pork belly too. The sauce sounds incredible too.
Kim
on Sep 12th, 2009
@ 7:53 AM:
Meatballs are popular this week!! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. You gave me a great idea for my little 2 year old. He is allergic to beef and wheat and can’t have traditional meatballs. It never dawned on me to use cornmeal to hold a meatball together. I think I make something work with ground pork and cornmeal. Kids just love meatballs!! These look delicious and I love that you grandma would put a piece of pork belly in the middle : )
Erica
on Sep 12th, 2009
@ 8:09 AM:
Thank you all for the comments!
Anna
on Sep 12th, 2009
@ 3:44 PM:
Pork belly inside the meatballs, that must be delicious. It looks very yummy and I love anything with cilantro, it’s such an aromatic herb.
nora@ffr
on Sep 13th, 2009
@ 2:09 AM:
yummm!! i loveee meat balllsss!! i shud try ye way sometime sooner!! thanx
cheers!
jeanine
on Sep 13th, 2009
@ 2:40 PM:
Excellent recipe…just made for my boyfriend –he is from Cali. Loved it !! Okay whats next…thanks
Erica
on Sep 13th, 2009
@ 4:53 PM:
Hi Jeanine,
Thank you very much for your feedback
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
on Sep 14th, 2009
@ 12:18 PM:
I love any kind of meatballs, and these look scrumptious!
Erica
on Sep 20th, 2009
@ 7:29 AM:
Thank you everyone for visiting:)