ALBONDIGAS SOUP
Thursday, February 04, 2016
When I think of American comfort food - I dream of creamy macaroni and cheese, hot chicken noodle soup, and toasty grilled cheese sandwiches. But, for the Sexy Mexican - comfort food means Albondigas Soup. Javier has sweet memories of his Madre in the kitchen cooking this wonderful dish.
Albondigas soup is a meatball soup in a light broth with veggies. It is laced with mint and Mexican oregano. The flavors are rich, but not heavy. It has quickly become a family favorite.
It took me a long time to develop the right recipe. I surveyed the family and made many attempts, but none of them were his Mom's recipe. I think I have finally got it right - he says I am now a bonafide adopted Mexican. Salud!!
INGREDIENTS
Meatballs
- 2lbs ground beef (you can use half beef and half ground turkey)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt & pepper
- 1/2 cup diced yellow or white onion
- 3 - 4 Tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 cup of long grain rice
Soup
- 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 diced serrano peppers
- 1 chopped yellow or white onion
- 1 diced anaheim pepper
- 2 chopped tomatoes
- 2 chopped cloves of garlic
- 1 Tablespoon of menudo mix or Mexican oregano or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons of cumin or more to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1-quart low sodium chicken broth
- 8 cups water
- 3 chayote squash - peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped
- 1 anaheim pepper - coarsely chopped
- 4 carrots - peeled, coarsely chopped
- 3 zucchini - coarsely chopped
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients with your hands. Just get down and dirty - it is much better than a spoon. Make sure you are using long grain rice. The quick cooking, short grain rice absorbs too much of the liquid and doesn't work here. Be careful not to overmix the meat or they will be tough. Once mixed - roll into meatballs. Tip: If you wet your hands, it keeps the meat from sticking. Place meatballs on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Makes about 25-30 meatballs.
Heat the oil in a soup pot or dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add the diced serrano peppers and saute for one minute. Add the diced anaheim pepper and tomatoes. Saute about 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic - saute another minute - being careful not to brown the garlic. Add the salt and pepper, cumin, and menudo mix or oregano. Cook another minute. Tip: Menudo mix can be found in the Hispanic food section of your grocery store - it is a great mix of red pepper, garlic, oregano and more. If you can not find it you can use oregano. I prefer Mexican oregano if you can get it.
Next add one quart of chicken broth and 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
Once the broth is boiling - add the carrots and chayote squash. Chayote squash is found a lot in Latin cooking. It has a wonderfully mild flavor and is a great substitute for potato in soups and stews, with less starch. They are an odd looking vegetable - but don't be afraid. Peel it (it is awkward) and cut it in half. You will notice a pale, pit like seed in the middle. Remove the pit and coarsely chop.
Next, carefully add the meatballs to the soup. Cover and simmer until meatballs and veggies are almost tender. Add the zucchini and cook until tender. Tip: Resist the urge to stir this too much or overcook this soup or your meatballs will fall apart.
Serve garnished with additional mint if desired. Sooooo yummy!!
eat. love. live well.
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