Recipe: “Mama Mia, that’s a spicy (chorizo) meatball!”

Click to see how to make this recipe

"That's a spicy meatball!": a chorizo meatball, actually, and Chef Eric McHugh from Flor Fina in Ybor City has a recipe for how to make it from scratch.

Plus, his method for Manchego Spaghetti with Oregano Crunch.

Find Chef Eric's recipes for his ‘Not Your Grandma’s Thanksgiving' here, and for his Thanksgiving Leftover Makeover here (both are good any time of year!).

Click here to print the recipe. If you make it for your dinner, let us know how it turned out. Email us at DinnerDeeAs@fox.com.

Chorizo Meatballs with Spicy Pomodoro sauce, Manchego Spaghetti and Oregano Crunch

Chorizo Seasoning

Ingredients

200g smoked paprika
50g ground coriander
30g granulated garlic
30g granulated onion
30g ground cumin
20g ground black pepper
20g dried oregano
5g ground cayenne pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients into a bowl, mix well, and store in an airtight container.

Chorizo Meatballs

Ingredients

2lbs ground beef (80/20)
1lb ground pork
4 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated Manchego cheese
7 tbsp chorizo spice mix (see above)
3 tsp kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 °F

In a small bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs and milk. Toss well and allow bread crumbs to soak up the milk.

In a separate, larger bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, soaked panko, eggs, Manchego, chorizo spice, and salt. Mix by hand until everything is well combined.

Scoop meatballs the desired size (2oz for this recipe) onto a greased sheet pan. Lightly oil your hands (so the meat doesn’t stick) and roll the meatballs into uniform spheres.

Bake the meatballs in the 400 °F oven for about 10 minutes to sear the outside.

While meatballs are baking, have your spicy pomodoro sauce heating up (or holding hot from making it) in a large pot on the stove over medium heat.

Once meatballs are seared and sauce is simmering, add meatballs to the sauce, cover the pot, and cook for additional 20 minutes in the sauce. This will finish the meatballs cooking, as well as allow the sauce to soak into the meatballs.

Spicy Pomodoro Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup sweet onion, diced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
8-12 basil leaves, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
4 qts crushed whole peeled tomatoes (with juice, canned San Marzano)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sambal oelek chili sauce
1 tsp Sriracha chili sauce
kosher salt & fresh black pepper to taste

Directions

Place a 2 gallon stock pot on the stove on medium heat.

Heat the olive oil in the pot, and add onions and garlic. Sweat lightly until translucent, and add tomato paste. Stir well to coat everything and cook additional 2 minutes.

Add sugar, oregano, basil, bay leaves, and red wine.

Bring to a boil and cook 3–4 minutes.

Add canned crushed tomatoes, sambal oelek and sriracha.

Bring to a simmer and allow to cook/simmer 45 minutes - 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Taste sauce and season with kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste.

Either hold warm in preparation for cooking meatballs in sauce or using for pasta, or allow to cool fully and store in airtight container until ready to use.

Manchego Spaghetti

Ingredients

1 lb spaghetti (or long thin pasta of your choosing)
1 gal boiling salted water
2 egg yolks
2 cups finely grated Manchego cheese
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Cook pasta in boiling salted water for recommended cooking time per the type of pasta. For the spaghetti, 8–10 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, use a big enough mixing bowl for all the cooked spaghetti, and combine the egg yolks and Manchego cheese. Mix well with a fork until a paste has formed.

Once pasta is within a minute of being fully cooked, ladle about 2 oz of the pasta cooking water slowly into the egg yolk and cheese mixture, stirring rapidly.

Remove the pasta from the cooking water with tongs and place directly into the bowl of the yolk and cheese mixture.

Using the tongs, gently but rapidly stir the spaghetti in the bowl. The hot pasta will melt the cheese, and cook the yolks, forming an emulsified sauce. Add a splash more pasta cooking water as needed if sauce is too thick. The pasta water will also help the sauce stick to the pasta.

Spiral a portion of the pasta onto the center of your favorite dinner plate. Top the pasta with 3 chorizo meatballs & some of the spicy pomodoro sauce they are cooked in. Sprinkle a nice coating of oregano crunch over the top of the meatballs, and garnish with a little fresh grated Manchego or Parmesan cheese to finish.