[Recipe + Video] Albondigas de Pescado (Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce)

These fish balls are like summertime and beach flavors on your table! Make this great albondigas de pescado in tomato sauce with any inexpensive fish.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Caribbean, Dominican

Keyword albondigas de pescado recipe, fish cakes, fishballs

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 146kcal

Author Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

For the fish balls

1 small white onion
½ bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs parsley
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
1 pound white fish filet [0.75 kg] fresh, skinned
1 cub breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs (our recipe) (extra, if needed, see notes)
vegetable oil to grease your hands

For the sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon bija (annato, achiote) powder
1 large white onion cut into strips
2 garlic cloves crushed
1½ bell pepper cut into strips
4 large tomato cut into cubes
2 sprigs parsley (or cilantro, if you prefer)
1 teaspoon salt

To garnish

3 limes (cut into wedges)

Instructions

Make seasoning: Mix bell pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, a pinch of pepper, and a teaspoon of salt and pulse in the food processor until you obtain a coarse paste. Set aside.
Make fish balls: Cut the fish into cubes and pulse in the food processor until it turns into a uniform paste.
In a large bowl, combine fish and seasoning paste from step 2. Mix well. Stir in the bread crumbs and combine well.
Grease your hands with some oil, scoop 1½ tablespoons of the paste (see notes), and make the fish paste into balls of about 1½" in diameter. Set aside in the fridge.
Make sauce: Heat the oil over low heat in a large skillet or pot. Stir in the bija powder. Add the onion and cook and stir until it becomes translucent. Add garlic, tomato, and bell pepper and cook and stir for a minute over medium heat.
Cover and simmer for five minutes, until the tomatoes start releasing liquid.
Very gently add the fish balls, making sure they don't break.
Cook balls: Simmer over low heat for five minutes. Gently flip the fish balls and simmer for another five minutes.
Sprinkle with black pepper and parsley.
Serve: Remove from the heat. Serve with white rice o tostones and garnish with lime wedges.

Video

Notes

Fishballs are stickier and mushier than meatballs. If you find it impossible to work with it, add an extra couple of tablespoons of bread crumbs, but don't overdo it because they will have too much of a bouncy texture if you add too much breadcrumb.

You can also freeze them (covered) for an hour too to make them easier to work with.

Nutrition