Mandonguilles amb Bolets

Medium·50 min active + 40 min resting

Catalan-Pyrenees meatballs with wild mushrooms — pork-and-veal meatballs browned and braised with foraged mushrooms in a sauce thickened by a picada of garlic and almonds.

Egg

Mandonguilles amb bolets is a classic Catalan-Andorran mountain dish — meatballs braised with wild mushrooms and bound with a picada, the ground nut-and-garlic paste that thickens Catalan sauces.

Spoon up mandonguilles amb bolets and the meatballs are soft and juicy in a glossy brown sauce thick with earthy wild mushrooms. Bite: the pork-and-veal balls are tender and savory, the mushrooms deep and woodsy, the sauce nutty and rounded from the almond picada, garlic warming throughout. A homely Catalan-mountain braise, perfect for mopping with bread.

Browning the floured meatballs builds a fond and a light crust that holds them together. The picada — pounded almonds and garlic — is the Catalan signature, both thickening the sauce and adding nutty depth at the end. Wild mushrooms bring the woodsy umami that pairs the dish to the Andorran autumn forest.

Variations

With peas added. With sepia (cuttlefish) for mar i muntanya. With a cinnamon-spiced picada. With more wine. Made with beef. Served over rice.

On the Palate

Where Mandonguilles amb Bolets sits in the Andorran flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 4

How it's made

8 steps · 50 min active + 40 min waiting

1
12 min
Mix 400 g minced pork and 200 g minced veal with 1 egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, and parsley; shape into small balls.
2
8 min
Dust the meatballs in flour and brown in olive oil; remove.
Watch out
Brown the floured meatballs well before removing — the crust and the fond left in the pan are the sauce's backbone; pale meatballs give a flat gravy.
3
8 min
Sauté 300 g wild mushrooms in the same pan until browned.
4
6 min
Soften 1 chopped onion; add 1 grated tomato and cook down.
5
4 min
Pour in 300 ml stock and a splash of white wine; return the meatballs.
6
26 min
Simmer gently 25 min until cooked and the sauce thickens.
Watch out
Keep the simmer gentle — a hard boil bounces the meatballs apart, while a bare bubble cooks them through and thickens the sauce.
7
6 min
Pound a picada of 2 garlic cloves, 8 almonds, and parsley; stir into the sauce.
Watch out
Stir the picada in near the end — the pounded almond and garlic thickens the sauce and lifts it with nutty depth; boil it long and that fresh aroma cooks off.
8
6 min
Simmer 5 min more and serve with bread or potatoes.