Rick Bayless Albondigas 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.

SOPA SECA DE FIDEOS

Steps:

• For dried chiles, toast them on an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat, turning regularly and pressing flat with a spatula, until very aromatic, about 30 seconds. In a small bowl, cover the chiles with hot water and re-hydrate 30 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure even soaking. Drain and discard the water. (Canned chiles need only be removed from their sauce.)
• Roast the unpeeled garlic on the griddle or skillet, turning occasionally, until soft, about 15 minutes; cool and peel. Roast 1 1/2 pounds of the tomatoes on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until blackened on 1 side, about 6 minutes, then flip and roast the other side. Cool, then peel, collecting all the juices with the tomatoes.
• In a food processor or blender, process the roasted tomatoes, rehydrated or canned chiles, and garlic to a medium-fine puree. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in medium-size (4-quart) pot (such as a Dutch oven or Mexican cazuela) over medium-high. Add the puree and stir for about 5 minutes as it sears and thickens. Set aside.
• If using chorizo, cook in a little oil over medium heat, breaking up large lumps as you go, until thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes. Scoop it out with a slotted spoon, draining as much oil as possible back into the skillet.
• Pour 6 tablespoons of the remaining oil into the skillet and return to the heat. When quite hot (drop a stray noodle in ? it should sizzle but not brown immediately), lay in about 1/3 of the noodle nests to fry until noticeably browned, about 1 minute, then flip and brown the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon, draining as much oil as possible back into the skillet, and drain on paper towels. Continue until all have been browned.
• Add the broth, oregano, and pepper to the tomato sauce. Core the remaining 1 pound of tomatoes and chop into 1/4-inch bits. Add and simmer briskly until the sauce thickens to the consistency of a juicy tomato sauce, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt.
• Add the noodles. In about 2 minutes pull the "nests" apart (they'll have softened enough to do it at this point), then add the zucchini and the chorizo (if you're using it). Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender but still firm, about 2 minutes.
• If using the cream, add it now, raise the heat to medium-high and boil quickly until the sauce returns to its previous consistency. Taste again and readjust the salt, if necessary.
• Stir in half of the grated cheese, scoop into a warm serving dish, sprinkle on the remaining cheese and the cilantro garnish, and it's ready to serve.

SOPA DE LIMA (YUCATAN LIME SOUP)

Steps:

• Cut the tortillas into 1/4-inch strips. Heat the oil in a medium skillet and, when very hot, fry the tortilla strips, in small batches, until lightly golden and crisp, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to paper towel lined plate to drain. Season with salt, to taste. Repeat until all tortilla strips have been fried. Set fried tortilla strips aside and reserve the vegetable oil.
• Transfer 1 tablespoon of the reserved cooking oil to a large saucepan and add the chopped onion, celery, carrot, and jalapeno pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaf, and Mexican oregano and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring, until the tomato is softened and has released its liquid and the mixture is nearly dry, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and chicken breasts and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook until the chicken is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove chicken from the soup and set aside until cool enough to handle. Allow soup to continue simmering.
• When the chicken has cooled a bit, shred into bite size pieces and return to the pot along with the green onions and lime juice. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is heated through and the soup is piping hot. Season the soup, to taste, with salt and ladle the soup into wide soup bowls, with a handful of tortilla strips added to each bowl. Garnish with the avocado and cilantro and serve immediately.

HOMEMADE ALBONDIGAS SOUP

Steps:

• Place the ground beef, 1/2 of the cilantro, 1/2 of the chopped onion, the garlic, garlic salt, and onion powder in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, and mix gently until combined. Form the meat mixture into golf ball-sized meatballs.
• Spray a large skillet with nonstick spray, and brown the meatballs carefully over medium-high heat; remove the meatballs and set aside (the meatballs do not need to be fully cooked; they will finish cooking in the soup). Cook and stir the remaining onion in the same skillet over medium-low heat until translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Pour the chicken broth into a large pot, and stir in the onion; add the carrots, celery, and potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are nearly tender, about 15 minutes. Add the meatballs and the remaining cilantro; simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

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.