Albondigas Mexican Meatball Soup Recipes

MAMA'S OLD-FASHIONED ALBONDIGAS (MEATBALL SOUP)

Steps:

• Pour water into a large stockpot over high heat. Stir in 3 cups tomato sauce, yellow onion, chicken bouillon, garlic, and 1 tablespoon dried oregano. Bring broth to a slow boil.
• Combine ground beef, eggs, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, white rice, 1/4 cup cilantro, seasoned salt, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and cumin in a large bowl. Squeeze mixture with your hands until thoroughly mixed.
• Scoop 1/4 cup of beef mixture and form in a ball. Lower gently into boiling broth. Repeat with remaining beef mixture.
• Stir potatoes, carrots, and celery into the broth. Cover and simmer until meatballs and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini and cabbage. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.
• Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with avocado and 1/4 cup cilantro.

MEXICAN MEATBALL SOUP (ALBONDIGAS SOUP)

Steps:

• Mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Using a small cookie scoop (2 teaspoons), scoop the meat into 42 balls. Gently roll them into balls.
• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the beef broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, and (if using) the chili flakes, and bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat so that the soup is simmering gently.
• Add the meatballs to the soup and DO NOT stir. Let them cook for 10 minutes in the simmering broth without stirring them.
• Add the potatoes to the pot and gently stir. When they are almost cooked (in about 10 minutes), add the corn to the pot and let it heat through.

MEXICAN MEATBALL SOUP

Steps:

• Place the tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a hot griddle to roast. Turn ccasionally to have an even roasting (about 5-7 minutes). Once roasted, place in your blender and process until you have a smooth sauce. If your tomatoes aren't juicy and your blender is having a hard time blending, add ¼ cup of water.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan at medium high heat. Once it is hot, gently pour in the sauce and cook for about 5 minutes and then add the chicken broth. Keep cooking. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to simmer. While the sauce is cooking we will start forming the meatballs.
• To from the meatballs: In a small bowl, soak the bread with the milk until it is softened, about 1 minute.
• Place meat in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
• Grind garlic clove and peppercorns in your molcajete (the flavors won't be able to compare if you use the dried form, but they'll still work fine). Once ground, add it to the meat, as well as the bread soaked in milk and the beaten egg. Season with salt.
• Gently mix with your hands or a wooden spoon. Do not over-mix or your meatballs will be hard. Next, form the small balls (the size of a golf ball) with your hands, without forcing or putting too much pressure on the meat, and carefully drop them into the simmering tomato broth. Keep making the meatballs, repeating this process. Once all of the meatballs are in the broth, cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. 5 minutes before they're done, add the chopped cilantro and season with salt. In this step, add any extra vegetables you want in your soup to cook along with the meatballs.

SOPA DE ALBóNDIGAS (MEXICAN MEATBALL SOUP)

Steps:

• Prepare the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, rice, mint, garlic, salt and pepper. Using your hands, gently mix until well combined. Pinch off 2-ounce portions and gently roll between your palms to form golf ball-size rounds, transferring rounds to a sheet pan. (You should have about 28 meatballs.)
• In large pot, combine the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery and potato; season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, oregano and cumin, and cook over medium, stirring frequently, until fragrant and tomato paste starts to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer over high.
• Once the stock begins to bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low. Carefully add the meatballs, one by one, distributing them evenly in the pot until they're all submerged. If necessary, reduce the heat to reach a low simmer (this will keep the meatballs tender), and cook until the meatballs and rice are cooked through, about 40 minutes. (Resist the urge to stir for the first 20 minutes, otherwise you risk breaking the meatballs apart before they've firmed up.) Skim any impurities from the surface as the soup simmers.
• Season to taste with salt. Divide the soup among bowls, about four or five meatballs per portion, and set out bowls of whatever garnishes you like.