Sopa de Albondigas

For many years, my mom made her recipe for "albondigas" and it was great.  So great, I made it for years.  And then my brother found a different recipe that used chorizo.  So ... I combined elements from the two recipes to come up with my "Ultimate" sopa de albondigas.

My husband absolutely loves this dish, and as I'm considering making it this week, I figured I'd share the recipe.


Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 T. cooking oil
7 - 8 cups chicken stock (I always start with 7, but usually add more)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano (whole, crushed between your fingers)
1 tsp cumin
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and cut across into 1/2" slices
salt/pepper to taste

Meatballs:

1 beaten egg
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped mint
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed slightly with your fingers
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 carrot, peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I run mine over my microplane, but a garlic press would work, too)
1/4 cup long grain rice (uncooked)
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb chorizo (I like Cattaneo Bros.)


In a large soup pot, saute onion/garlic/celery over medium-high heat in the oil for a few minutes until soft.  Add the tomatoes, the spices and the broth.  Bring to a boil and add the carrots and potatoes.  Simmer 5-10 minutes.

While simmering, make the meatballs:

Combine egg/spices/herbs/carrot/garlic/rice in a medium bowl.  Add meat and combine well -- hands work best to really make sure the 2 meats get mixed together.  Shape into meatballs using a 2 tsp size cookie scoop (very small - you can approximate by using 1 Tablespoon measure -- the meatballs increase in size when cooked as the rice expands).

Gently add meatballs to the simmering soup and cook for 15 minutes.  Add zucchini and continue simmering for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve with lemon/limes and Mexican rice.