Albondigas meatball tacos

Ingredients:

• 20 small tortillas
• 1.1 kg ground beef
• 2 heads of garlic
• 3 plum tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. l. olive oil
• 2 medium onions, cut into quarters
• 2 small poblano chili peppers
• 2 tablespoons crushed chipotle, preserved in adobo sauce
• 2 tbsp. lard or margarine
• 2 tbsp. chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
• 2 tsp. adobo sauce from a jar of peppers plus 1 tbsp. l. for meatballs
• 1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chipotle puree (mashed chipotles in adobo sauce)
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup shredded cotija cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 cups bread crumbs (more if needed)
• 0.5 cup masa harina corn flour

Preparation:

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 230°C.
   
   Make the sauceCut off the tops of each head of garlic, then wrap each in foil. Arrange the tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Place the onions and poblano peppers, drizzled with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, on another baking sheet.
   
   Roast the garlic, tomatoes, onion, and poblano pepper, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the vegetables are tender and browned, about 45 minutes. (Remove the vegetables early if they begin to burn.)
2. Peel the garlic cloves. Remove the skin and seeds from the poblano pepper. Set the pepper and half of the roasted garlic and onion aside for the albondigas. In a blender, puree the tomatoes, remaining garlic and onion, and chopped chipotle. Scrape down the sides of the blender as needed.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 200°C.
   
   Melt the lard in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the roasted vegetable puree and simmer until reduced by about half, 8-10 minutes. Pour in the broth, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until the mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Gradually add the butter, stirring until it melts into the mixture. Season with adobo seasoning, salt, and pepper. Keep warm.
4. Make albondigasWhile the sauce is preparing: finely chop the carrots in a food processor. Combine with the remaining roasted vegetables (peppers, garlic, and onions), chipotle puree, hot sauce, eggs, cotija cheese and cilantro and blend until well combined.
5. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, blender mixture, bread crumbs, cornmeal, adobo sauce, 2 teaspoons salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Mix well with your hands (do not overwork the ground beef).
   
   Form this mixture into 1.5-inch (3.8 cm) meatballs (about 40). Place them on 2 baking sheets and bake until done, 15-20 minutes. Add to the sauce.
6. For serving, you will need: crumbled queso fresco cheese, hot mayonnaise and cilantro. To assemble the tacos, heat the tortillas on a grill pan, then spread each tortilla with spicy mayonnaise. Top with 2 or 3 meatballs and a little sauce. Garnish with pickled onions, mayonnaise, queso fresco, and cilantro.
   
   

   Pickled onions

   
   Combine 3/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 tablespoon salt, 3 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and peppercorns, and a pinch of red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then add 1 large red onion, thinly sliced ​​into rings. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the onion is softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let cool completely. Store in a covered container for at least 2 hours and up to 2 weeks.