Sopa de Albóndigas

This wonderful recipe is from my book A Gringo's Guide to Authentic Mexican Cooking.

Sopa de Albóndigas

Meatball Soup

We go out for Mexican food with our friends Ryan and Claire at least once a month. Ryan always orders Albóndigas soup, so I wrote this easy, delicious recipe for him. Give it a try. Who knows, it might just end up being your favorite, too.

Meatballs:

1 tablespoon long-grain rice

6 ounces ground beef

6 ounces ground pork

1/4 medium white onion, finely minced

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon dried mint

½-teaspoon Mexican oregano

1/4-teaspoon ground cumin

1/2-teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Soup:

3 Roma tomatoes

1/4 medium white onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-tablespoon corn oil

3 carrots, cleaned peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds

2 small zucchini, cleaned, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch cubes

3 cups water

3 cups beef broth

1 chile guerro, stems removed, and a slit cut in the side

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Put the rice in a little bowl or cup and cover with boiling water. Let the rice soak for 20 minutes. Mix all remaining meatball ingredients together well. Drain the rice and then work into the meat mixture. Roll into little meatballs an inch or so across.

Turn the tomatoes upside down and cut a 1-inch X across the bottom of each tomato, just through the skin. Fill a small saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Drop the tomatoes, one at a time, into the boiling water for 20 seconds. Remove from the boiling water. Allow to cool down a little. Using the edge of a paring knife, remove the core and skin. Cut in half from top to bottom, shake out the seeds, and dice. Set aside.

Purée the onion and garlic in a blender. In a hot soup pot, lightly simmer the mixture from the blender in the corn oil for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened and reduced. Add all other ingredients except meatballs. Bring to a simmer and then carefully add the meatballs. Simmer over very low heat for 1 hour, gently stirring now and then. If froth appears on top of the soup, remove with a slotted spoon and discard. When the vegetables are soft and the meatballs well cooked, serve with wedges of key lime.

Serves 5 to 6