Appetizers that can be "made ahead" and frozen
Tiny Spiced Meatballs With Tomatoes

This is a slightly revised recipe from the one that appears in From Tapas to Meze by Joanne Weir (Crown Publishers 1994). We found that these meatballs freeze well if cooled in the refrigerator and then divided into portions and placed in plastic freezer bags. Remove from bags and reheat over very low heat until completely thawed.

Ingredients:

• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 3/4 lb ground pork
• 3/4 lb ground sirloin
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Pinch of cayenne
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over low heat. Add the chopped onion and 3 cloves of garlic. Saute until translucent but not brown (7-10 minutes). Add the wine, tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the pork, beef, bread crumbs, 3 cloves of garlic, ground coriander, nutmeg, cumin and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper. Form mixture into 60 small meatballs and place on baking sheets which have been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking oil. Bake the meatballs for 12-15 minutes. Add meatballs to tomato mixture and simmer slowly for 20 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, thin with a small amount of water. Makes 60 meatballs.