Aguiat de pilotes, the Mallorcan meatball stew

Today we’ll be cooking a delicious meatball dish, known in Mallorca as aguiat de pilotes, or “meatball stew”. This dish can be served with white rice or chips (French fries for the American fellows). This is just one of the never-ending list of meatball dishes we have in Spain. It’s not difficult to make, but it does take some time. Aguiat de pilotes is perfect for cooking it on weekends and keeping it in the fridge for the week.

Ingredients

For 30 meatballs (about 6 people):

300g minced meat

100g sobrassada

100g whisked bacon

2 eggs

Marjoram or oregano, black pepper and salt

For the sauce:

1 large onion

3 plum tomatoes

2 carrots

200g peas

100g green beans

Black pepper, nutmeg and salt

A handful of almonds and parsley

250ml white wine

Directions

1. Before we start, we can replace the sobrassada with the same amount of chorizo or minced meat (400g total). In this case, add half a teaspoon sweet paprika to the meat. You can also buy smoked bacon, whole or in slices, and cut it afterwards. We should thoroughly beat it in a food processor until we get a smooth paste.
2. Place the minced meat, the eggs, the sobrassada, the bacon and the condiments in a bowl. Add in a pinch of salt and mix it well with your own hands.
3. Knead the dough until the balls have the shape and size of your taste. Flour them and remove the excess. Place them on a plate.
4. Once the meatballs are ready, fry them over high heat with plenty of oil. Use a skimmer to collect them and put them on kitchen paper so that the excess oil is absorved.
5. Pour a dash of olive oil into a saucepan. Cut the onion and carrots into julienne strips and fry them for 20 minutes. After that, add the tomatoes that have been previously pureed with a blender. Cook for 15 minutes more.
6. Place the meatballs in the saucepan. Add the white wine and water to cover them. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
7. Add salt, black ground pepper and nutmeg to taste.
8. Lastly, add the green beans and peas, and cook them for 10 minutes.
9. This recipe is almost over. Crush the almonds and parsley in a food processor, add it in the mix and add more salt if needed.

Aguiat de pilotes. | Shutterstock