Albondigas Soup - Sopa de Albondigas

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• The Albondigas (meatballs, makes 20):
• 1 pound very lean ground beef (Rocky Mountain Organic Meats)
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup uncooked long grain white rice (Lundberg organic long grain)
• 1/4 cup very finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 8-ounce can tomato sauce (Muir Glen organic)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• The Caldo (broth):
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1/2 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 large stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon marjoram
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 2 6-ounce Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Details

Adapted from delightfulrepast.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

1 In medium bowl, combine all albondigas ingredients except olive oil. Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour to make mixture easier to handle.

2 In 5-quart pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Over medium heat, cook onion and bell pepper for about 8 minutes. Add chicken broth and tomato sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes (or as long as it takes to shape meatballs).

3 Roll #40 scoops of meatball mixture with both hands to form meatballs. (First I scoop all of the meatball mixture and then roll all the meatballs.)

4 Let broth continue to simmer. In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Brown the meatballs in two batches, rolling them around, browning on all sides. Add meatballs to broth. Simmer for 10 minutes (or as long as it takes to slice the carrots and celery).

5 Deglaze the skillet with the 2 cups of water; add to soup. Add carrots, celery, salt, pepper, marjoram and crushed red pepper to soup. Simmer for 10 minutes.

6 Add zucchini, potato and cilantro. Simmer 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish (if you're not in a hurry to eat, as I was!) with avocado, cilantro and/or a wedge of lime. Maybe fry up some crispy little strips of corn tortilla.