Don’t worry, I won’t write my blogposts in Spanish from now. Pepino and albóndiga have been my daughter’s favourite words in her first Spanish course. So funny, so strange, so absolutely not similar to their fellow cucumbers and meatballs in German, English or French. In the end, both nouns happen to match quite nicely in real life.

The albóndigas in our recipe are crispy veggie balls, being best when you flatten them to the max – the flatter the crispier!

pepino y albóndiga

the pepino:
Peel the cucumber and cut it in stripes with the peeler. Discard the seeds.

the albóndigas (yields about 15):
200g carrots, finely grated
200g broccoli stems or zucchini, finely grated (I added half a small beetroot for the colour)
100g onions
2 eggs
200g cottage cheese
140g fine oatmeal
a pinch of Cayenne pepper, black pepper and nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix salt and vegetables, let it soak and discard the water. Use your hands to combine the grated vegetables, cottage cheese, eggs, oatmeal and the spices in a bowl. Add more salt if necessary. Form the albóndigas with moist hands and fry them until they turn golden and crispy. Serve with parsley and mint leaves.