These meatballs were inspired by a long ago trip to Spain when I (along with my mother and grandmother) accompanied my exchange student Joel back to his home city Alcoy after spending a year as a Rotary exchange student in my school and a second brother/son in my house for six months. It was my first European trip and I was beyond impressed. The sights, the beaches, the nightclubs, and most importantly the food were beyond my 17 year old expectations. My taste buds were wowed time and time again with traditional paella, rabbit, fresh grilled squid, brick oven fired snails (cargolada), and Nutella (which I had never tasted before). Joel's mother, their family friends/relatives all contributed to our culinary education while there. At a relatively sedate family lunch or dinner (only 4 or so bottles of wine were opened) we feasted upon a baked meatball penne pasta dish that Amparo (Joel's mother) had made. The mini meatballs were what made it. They were tender and sweet with a tang. Somehow I wrangled a recipe that involved pantomiming and trips pointing to ingredients in the refrigerator. Since then I have made these meatballs over and over again. —testkitchenette
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