Albondigas...Mexican Meatball Soup

I was able to get the Handsome Mexican to cook again last night!  Woo-hoo!  I love when he cooks.  I convinced him to make some albondigas, or Mexican meatball soup, for us!  If you've never had albondigas, you are in for a treat!  It's perfect for chilly nights!  Serve with warm corn tortillas and you have an authentic Mexican dinner!

 

Albondigas

Meatballs:

 

2lbs ground beef

1/2 cup uncooked rice

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped, fresh mint

4 chopped Roma tomatoes (or any tomato...probably 2 large or 4 small tomatoes)

1 cup bread crumbs (when I make homemade bread and don't eat all of it, I process it in the blender/food processor and then put the crumbs in a freezer bag in the freezer for recipes like this!)

1 egg

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

 

Sauce/Broth:

 

8 Roma tomatoes

1/4 of an onion

2 garlic cloves

4 cups water

1 can tomato sauce

1 tbsp butter

1 handful of fresh cilantro

2 tbsp chicken base (more for flavor if needed)

Pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic powder

 

 

There are going to be lots of pictures to help you with making these yummy albondigas.  However, they really aren't hard.  You basically make the broth/sauce and meatballs...then add them together to cook.  It's not hard, promise!

 

 

Gather up all your ingredients for the albondigas.  (if you see the two eggs in the pic, ignore it...we ended up only using one).  Get out a big mixing bowl and add the ground beef, rice, and salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Mix it all up.  You will need to chop your mint, onions, and tomatoes.  I used some of the fresh mint I am growing in the garden...there is nothing like fresh mint!  If you aren't growing any herbs, I would definitely recommend it! 

 

Add the chopped mint, tomatoes and onion, along with the bread crumbs and eggs.  Mix well (you can use your hands if you need to...just make sure everything is mixed well). 

 

Once the meat is all mixed up, start shaping golf-ball sized meatballs.  This makes quite a few meatballs...nothing my family of 4 can't finish off in 24hrs, but if you decide it's too many for you, go ahead and freeze the meatballs at this point.  Later, you can take them out and just whip up the broth, add the albondigas, and have a quick, easy meal!

 

For the sauce, you will need to boil the tomatoes, onion, and garlic with just enough water to cover the tomatoes.  Boil until soft (you can see the skin peeling off the tomatoes...don't boil until you have spaghetti sauce, just until everything is soft).  Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic and a handful of fresh cilantro (also from my herb garden), along with some of the water, into the blender.  Blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary.  Don't toss the water from the boiling session!  We'll add it back in later.  Set aside the pureed tomatoes.

 

In a large pot, add the butter and melt.  Once melted, add a can of tomato sauce, along with a pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic.  Saute for a few minutes.  You want it to cook so that the canned tomato taste disappears. 

 

 

Add the blended tomatoes into the pot along with the left over water from boiling the tomatoes.  Add an additional 3-4 cups of water (you don't want this to be so thin it's like a clear broth...you want it to be like a thin salsa...thick enough to coat the albondigas, yet thin enough to be a soup...clear as mud?  We ended up added about 4 cups of water total.)  Bring the broth/sauce to a boil.

 

Once the broth is boiling, turn the heat down to med-low and add the albondigas (meatballs).  Cover with a lid but leave it somewhat open to vent (otherwise it will boil over and make a huge mess).  Cook for about 20 minutes.  To make sure the albondigas are ready, take one out and cut open...if the rice is cooked, they are done...if not, put them back in and cook for a few more minutes.  If the rice is cooked, the albondigas are ready! 

 

Heat up some fresh corn tortillas and enjoy a yummy bowl of Authentic Mexican Albondigas!  Enjoy!

 

 

Happily Homemade

Sandra