Meatballs with Chopped Almonds

Many Spanish recipes of Arabic origin contain nuts, such as almonds. A picada, which is a mixture of garlic, parsley, and nuts, is ground into a fine paste and stirred into a dish toward the end of cooking, lending color, earthiness, and texture. Often used in cazuela dishes, picar means “to chop,” although the picada is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle to release the oils of the nuts. The picada can also be made by pulsing the nuts in a food pr