Albondigas Soup

Comfort food for any culture!

One of most favorite soups in the world is Albondigas Soup. In case you don’t know what that is, it is a traditional Mexican soup with a broth base, seasonal vegetables and spicy meatballs. In any culture, it is the perfect comfort food after a long, cold day.

I wish I had a wise Mexican grandmother to teach me how to make the traditional authentic Albondigas, (or sopa de albondigas) but I don’t. So, with the help of 6 cookbooks and the internet, I think I came up with a sufficient version. Of course I will undoubtedly tweak this recipe, add a little of this or maybe some of that, until it is perfect. In the meantime, here is how I made my first Albondigas soup.

For the Meatballs:

1 ½ pounds ground beef

½ cup finely diced onion

¼  cup finely diced celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 eggs

½ cup uncooked rice

2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

1 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

salt, ground black pepper

For the Soup:

8 cups chicken stock (I use low sodium)

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 potatoes cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup thinly sliced carrots

½ cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped fresh Roma tomatoes

5-6 whole cloves of garlic

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 bunch cilantro

1 lime
Fresh corn tortillas

How to prepare

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine beef, onion, ¼ cup celery, garlic, cumin, eggs, rice, parsley, oregano, and bread crumbs, and salt and pepper. Mix well. Form into 30 small meatballs. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Set aside.

Place the cut potatoes in a pot of boiling water and cook until just tender, but not too soft. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Add carrots, remaining ½ cup celery, and garlic.

Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chili flakes, and the potatoes.

Add the chicken stock and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add meatballs and continue to simmer on low heat until ready to serve.

Serve hot and garnish with cilantro and lime and corn tortillas.