Eloy Leon Mendez's Albondigas

* Note: For all-beef meatballs, use 2 pounds of ground beef and omit the pork.

Combine the beef, pork, ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, cloves, minced onion, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mint in a bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Gently stir in the eggs. Form the mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Set aside.

Place the tomatillos in boiling water with the garlic, remaining 1/2 onion and cumin seeds. Cook until the tomatillos are tender, about 10 minutes. Strain and place them into a blender with the green chiles and 1 cup of the cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Puree the mixture.

Heat the oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pureed chile sauce and meatballs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat about 20 minutes. Stir in the remaining cilantro. Albondigas are usually served in a soup, but these would be great over hot rice.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

Each serving: 582 calories ; 461 mg. sodium; 217 mg. cholesterol; 42 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 38 grams protein; 3.88 grams fiber.