Sardine ball Bocadillo w/ chilindron sauce and manchego cheese

Someone recently gave me a few cans of Flower Brand sardines in tomato sauce. And even tho I love the regular Flower sardines (and free sardines) that tomato sauce ain’t doing them any favors imo.
So I made them into little fish balls to put on a sandwich with a Spanish chillindron inspired sauce and Manchego cheese to see how that might taste. Turns out, it’s pretty good. Equal parts pizza shop meatball sub and Spanish bocadillo. There’s a lot I’d do differently next time but it was a success. The manchego makes it something special.
This recipe idea is definitely worth future attempts to make it as good as I know it can be. Thanks for watching!

Sardine ball Bocadillo w/ chilindron sauce and manchego cheese

Meatballs

2 tins Flower Brand (recommended) sardines in tomato sauce
1 cup bread crumbs divided (you likely won’t need all of this)
1/2 cup of whole milk plain yogurt
1 egg
Optional 1 teaspoon of your favorite seafood seasoning (Old Bay or whatever)
Pinch of salt, if you don’t use the seasoning

Chilindron sauce

1/2 of an onion sliced root to tip
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 Jar of roasted red peppers
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes (about 15 ounces)
1 sprig of fresh rosemary chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
Some kind of spicy chiles (to your taste), I used some dried Fresno chiles here
Salt and black pepper to taste

Chopped flat-leaf parsley
Manchego cheese for melting. (Don’t skip the cheese! It’s what makes this sandwich something special.)
Recipe makes about 3-4 bocadillos

For the meatballs add everything to a food processor minus half of the breadcrumbs and pulse a few times.
You can also mix all of this by hand with a fork and bowl. You’re just looking for a paste like consistency not flaky or chunky like a crab cake or anything, they won’t hold together well that way. Also be careful not to add too much breadcrumb or they’ll be dry and you deserve better than that, friend. So just eyeball this part and use your best judgement. Add a little more if you need to. Roll ‘em up like any other meatball, put them in the fridge and then make the sauce.

For the sauce, sautée the onions until softened, not looking for any browning here. Add the garlic for a minute or so. Pour in the peppers and tomatoes, then add the chiles, paprika, rosemary, salt and pepper. Reduce to low heat and simmer gently, covered for about 20-30 mins. Stir it occasionally. You want to cook any “rawness” out of the tomatoes here and make sure you balance their acidity with just enough salt. When it’s done, you can blend it or not. I did here but decided I’d probably raw dog it next time and leave it stew-like for some texture.
You can either broil or deep fry the balls now. I broiled on a baking sheet at 500 degrees for a bout 5 -7 minutes until golden. But deep fried would be excellent and crisp-a-licious.

Butter and toast your bread. Build the sandwich and throw it under the broiler to melt the cheese, sprinkle with plenty of parsley and enjoy.
Pairs up great with a beer and some potato chips or fries.