Albondigas Soup Recipe

Below is my recipe for a somewhat spicy and totally delicious Albondigas soup that was inspired by my niece‘s recipe.  The broth is a combination of chicken broth, beef broth & a tomato sauce made with fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, cumin and chipotle chiles.  The soup has fresh carrots, potatoes & zucchini and some delicious meatballs made with ground beef, ground pork, rice, oregano, and egg to bind the ingredients together.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Pinch of cumin seeds
10 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped (keeping the juice)
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobe sauce
6 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of beef broth
1 cup of water
4 carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 medium potato, peeled and chopped into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon of fresh oregano, minced
4 sprigs of fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 medium zucchinis, chopped into 2 inch pieces
3/4 pound of ground beef
3/4 pound of ground pork
A pinch of flour
1/2 cup of cooked rice
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried Mexican oregano
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Take a Dutch oven or stockpot and add in your oil and place it over a medium heat.  Then add in your onion, garlic and cumin seeds and sauté until the onions are translucent.  This should take about 5 minutes.  Then add in your tomatoes and reduce your heat to a medium low and bring your mixture to a simmer.  Your sauce it ready when the tomatoes are cooked down and the sauce looks saucy. You may need to add in a little broth.

At this point place your tomato mixture and chipotle chiles into a food processor and blend until smooth. When your tomato sauce is smooth return your tomato sauce back into your Dutch oven along with your chicken broth, beef broth, water, carrots, potatoes, oregano, cilantro, salt and pepper.  Then place your pot over a medium high heat and bring to a boil.  You will then want to reduce your heat and bring it to a steady simmer and then let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Then add in your zucchini and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until all of your vegetables are tender.

While your Albondigas soup is simmering you will want to make your meatballs.  To make your meatballs take a medium mixing bowl and add in your ground beef and ground pork, rice, oregano, egg, salt, pepper and a pinch of flour over top.  Then mix your ingredients together with your hands.   Once mixed you will want to form your meat mixture into balls of about 2 inches in diameter.  Then gently add in your meatballs into your simmering soup, one at a time.  You will want to simmer your soup until your meatballs are buoyant and firm.  This should take about 15 more minutes. When your Albondigas soup is ready you will want to ladle into bowls and serve while still hot.