Spanish meatballs in tomato and almond sauce

Preheat an oven to 180 degrees/gas 4. To make the meatballs, soak the breadcrumbs in enough milk (you might not need all 50ml) to moisten them to the point where you can shape them into a wet ball.

Mix the wet breadcrumbs in a bowl with the minced meats, cheese, onion, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper. Shape into about 18-20 small balls and place in fridge to chill for about half an hour.

Make the sauce by sweating the onions in the 50ml of olive oil until soft, and then adding the white wine and saffron and reducing this sauce over a medium heat till the alcohol has evaporated. This will take about five minutes. Add the remainder of the ingredients and simmer to taste.

Fry the meatballs over a medium heat till browned on the outside but not cooked all the way through. Pour the tomato and almond sauce into a large casserole or roasting tin, add the meatballs (loosely scattered over the sauce) and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with a big green salad.