It had been awhile since I made albóndigas and while deciding which sauce I would make – tomato or fino sherry – it occurred to me to try them with amontillado sherry. And I have to say they turned out fabulous. For this sauce I left out the pancetta, used more garlic and added some whole chilli peppers.

Ingredients and instructions below…

Pork & Beef Meatballs

Makes approx 24 meatballs

• 375 grams ground beef
• 375 grams ground pork
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 clove garlic, minced
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
• ground black pepper
• fine bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix everything, other than the olive oil, together in a large bowl (I find squishing it all between my fingers works best), slowly adding the bread crumbs at the end until you get a nice firm texture. Then form the meatballs, roll them in breadcrumbs, and place on a large plate or tray. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes before cooking.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and brown the meatballs, in batches if necessary (don’t crowd them), turning occasionally until cooked, about 10 minutes. Set aside until the sauce is ready, then add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and heat through for another 10 minutes.

Garlicky Amontillado Sauce

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 6 – 8 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
• ground black pepper
• 3-4 whole chilli peppers (optional)
• 1 cup amontillado sherry
• 1 cup hot chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat olive oil in a saucepan and sautée the garlic, onion and black pepper in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the hot chicken broth, amontillado and chillis and turn up the heat until it starts to boil, then turn it down to a medium heat and keep stirring until the sauce thickens a bit, about 5 minutes. Add cooked meatballs and heat through.