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A perfect tapas/appetizer for a special party (New Year’s Eve or Super Bowl?), these Baked Peruvian Style Meatballs pack a flavorful punch with cilantro, cumin, and aji amarillo (or other chile pepper)! Dipped in a tasty Aji Verde, your guests will be back for seconds…

AND. THESE TASTY BITES ARE BAKED! We don’t eat fried food but 1 or 2 times per year at Andersen casa… I hate the mess, and I don’t want the fat and calories. 😯

Before we get started with the process for making Peruvian Style Meatballs with Aji Verde, I want to spend a moment explaining why these meatballs are “Peruvian style.” Cool?

The Flavors of Peru (A Quick Summary)

Peruvian cuisine encompasses a vast array of flavors and ethnic influences. From the Spanish influences on coastal ceviche flavored with chiles and lime to lomo saltado with its decidedly Chinese stir fry influences to the proliferation of wood-fired pizza restaurants… Italian.

Each region – coastal, Andean, and Amazon basin – has its typical ingredients. Having spent a great deal of time in the Andes, I am most familiar with the emphasis on corn, potatoes, and other tubers, chicken (pollo a la brassa), alpaca, and cuy. The ceviche in Cuzco is excellent, but typically is made with fresh water trout.

Numerous herbs and spices including coriander, cumin, parsley, cilantro, laurel/bay, mint, thyme, marjoram, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise (fennel), black pepper and oregano flavor Peruvian dishes.

For the home cook looking to incorporate Peruvian flavors into the meal plan, one cannot underestimate the importance of chile peppers. Ají amarillo, ají panca, and rocoto chile are 3 that I keep in my well-stocked pantry. Ají limón and ají mochero are more difficult to find in the US.

I do find that the small red Fresno chile (sweet and hot) makes a decent substitute for rocoto chiles. They’re typically found in jars or cans in the US as they’re not imported (to my knowledge) fresh.

Ají amarillo, with its uniquely flavored and moderate heat, is oft described as the “sunshine chile.” I have not found a decent substitute for their unique flavor, but they’re becoming more widely available in US markets.

Baked Peruvian Style Meatballs with Aji Verde

Baked Peruvian Style Meatballs specifies whole ají amarillo, and its companion recipe Peruvian Aji Verde (next recipe/post) specifies the paste. I find many large markets with a large selection of Latin food products carry Goya ají amarillo paste. The whole ones can be found both frozen and packed in water in jars.

I first tried the meatballs with rocoto chiles. TOO. HOT. 😯 We found the minced ají amarillo to be a perfect “moderate” heat level. If you just can’t handle any heat, add finely minced yellow, orange, or red bell pepper to the meat mixture.

On this particular night day, I used 1 whole ají amarillo chile to 1 pound of lean, grass fed ground beef. The chiles were packed in brine in a jar. Whole frozen (or fresh if you can find them!) work just as well. Again, you can substitute other chopped chile but recognize the flavor will be slightly different (still delicious). 🙂

Ground bison is a good substitute, but it is very lean, and the meatballs were a little dry… Ground pork or chicken thigh meat would probably work well, though I can’t vouch for either.

My “secret weapon” with meatballs is one you may have seen before in my Ancho and Chocolate BBQ Sauce With Mexican Meatballs and Southwest-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash? I add the onion, cilantro, and garlic (ingredients may vary) to the bowl of my food processor and pulse until quite finely chopped but not puréed. The mixture is then pressed through a sieve to remove as much liquid as possible before it is added to the meat mixture.

Removing liquid from the wet ingredients improves the texture and helps hold the meatball together! The balance of the recipe is typical meatball stuff: Add the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using your hands (yes please!) mix until well-combined.

In forming and cooking these Peruvian meatballs, I use a mini muffin tin. The recipe yields 12 medium sized meatballs with this size pan. They aren’t really “mini” meatballs as each one is 2-3 bits. They’re a great appetizer size!

Baked at 400° (375 convection bake), my meatballs take 20-25 minutes. Using tongs I turn once after about 15 minutes to improve browning. When they’ve got some nice browning, they should be cooked through. They should be pretty firm when pressed…

I have found that combining 2 recipes in one post results in confusion for Google search. 😆 For my readers as well… Watch for the companion Ají Verde in the next few days, and Salsa de Palta (Peruvian Guacamole) in the not-too-distant future!

Are you looking ahead to the crazy of the holidays? I’m thinking that a batch of these tasty Peruvian Meatballs in the freezer might be just “the thing.” We enjoy them with roasted potatoes, a simple tomato and red onion salad, and (of course) a glass of wine.

Yield: 12

Baked Peruvian Meatballs with Aji Verde

Name: Baked Peruvian Meatballs with Aji Verde
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Peruvian
Ingredients: 1 bunch cilantro (cut at the base of the leaves); 1 small onion cut in chunks; 1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves); 1 pound ground meat (90/10 grass fed beef); 2 teaspoon cumin; 2 tablespoons minced aji amarillo chile pepper (see notes); 1/4 cup panko; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon salt; several grinds of pepper

A perfect tapas/appetizer for a special party (New Year's Eve or Super Bowl?), these Baked Peruvian Style Meatballs pack a flavorful punch with cilantro, cumin, and aji amarillo (or other chile pepper)! Dipped in a tasty Aji Verde, your guests will be back for seconds...

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 bunch cilantro (cut at the base of the leaves)
1 small onion cut in chunks
1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 pound ground meat (90/10 grass fed beef)
2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons minced aji amarillo chile pepper (see notes)
1/4 cup panko
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
several grinds of pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 (375 convection).
Add cilantro leaves (and small stems are fine), onion cut in chunks, and garlic to the bowl of food processor. Pulse several times until finely minced and well-combined.
Scoop into a sieve placed over a large bowl. Press with a spatula to remove liquid. Discard liquid, and add solids to the bowl.
Add remaining ingredients to the bowl. Go ahead and get your hands dirty. Mix those meatballs thoroughly!
Form into balls. I used a mini-muffin pan with 12 cups. This makes 12 approximately 2" meatballs. You can do them smaller or larger, but be sure to adjust the time accordingly.
Bake until the meatballs are browned and firm to the touch.
Serve with desired sauce(s). Peruvian Ají Verde Recipe link. Fermented Peruvian Red Pepper Salsa link.

Notes

Until I get my own salsa recipes posted, this website has some excellent options!
As I wrote in the post, Peruvian ingredients are becoming available in more cities, but if you can't find them, you can substitute finely chopped jalapeno, Fresno, or other fresh chile. If you like it hot, rocoto is another good option.
I serve these meatballs with roasted potato wedges. Simply scrub, cut in wedges, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in the preheated oven ahead of the meatballs. They'll get a 15-20 minute head start while you make the meatballs.
Macronutrients (approximation ONLY) from MyFitnessPal.com

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

3 meatballs
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 243 Total Fat: 13g Carbohydrates: 4g Protein: 24g

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