Mexican-Inspired Meatball Soup

I got this recipe from The Kitchn Albondigas Soup. It’s quite a close cousin of my Beef Farro Soup in many ways: swap the farro for potatoes and add in some Mexican spices and the basic recipe is nearly the same. It’s fun to have a different flavor profile while still keeping cooking methods and ingredients that are familiar and easy. 

My family really loves meatballs, I less so. For the first time making the recipe I did it as-written with meatballs. I may do that on occasion in the future, but I see myself more often just sautéing the ground beef with the onions and leaving it at that. You can dial the meat up or down as you choose. To convert this to a vegetarian recipe, use veggie stock and either vegetarian meatballs or you could add some hominy, beans, or red lentils or any combo of those instead of meat. 

Instead of buying Roma tomatoes out of season, I used a regular-sized can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes. I also added ground coriander and bay leaves and a bag of frozen, riced cauliflower, my favorite easy soup vegetable. I used double the amount of liquid, as well, so we got 3 nights’ worth of dinner from this one batch, with a side of something to bulk it out (in this case, homemade wheat toast, which I make in bulk and slice and freeze to pull out in these cases).

So, another soup in the rotation that I think I’ll be coming back to frequently.

INGREDIENTS NO MEATBALLS

2 TBSP olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced (let’s be honest, I use the food processor)

2-3 carrots, diced or finely chopped in the food processor

2-4 stalks of celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, finely minced or put through a press or the food processor

1 lb ground been (adjust to your preference)

1/2 to 1 tsp dried oregano ideally Mexican oregano

1/2 to 1 tsp dried ground coriander

1 14 or 15 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes

2-3 medium potatoes, diced. I also pre-cook mine for 3 minutes at high pressure in the instant pot but you could add them directly to the broth if you like

7 cups stock (chicken, turkey or vegetarian)

7 cups water

4 fresh bay leaves or 2 dried

1 tsp kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat and add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook until the onion is soft and slightly browned, stirring often, about 10 minutes. 
2. Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is cooked through, breaking it up as you go
3. Add the garlic, oregano and coriander and cook until fragrant, about a minute
4. Add the stock, water, potatoes, tomatoes, bay, salt and pepper 
5. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook 30 minutes to one hour depending on if your potatoes are pre-cooked or not
6. Taste at 25 minutes and see how much longer you think you have to go. About 10 minutes before your estimated done time, add the cauliflower so it can cook
7. When the cooking time is up, taste for seasoning. Add vinegar, salt, pepper, more cumin or oregano or chili flakes/chili powder to taste
8. Serve with wedges of lime, avocado slices or chile

INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS WITH MEATBALLS

1 lb ground beef

1/2 c cooked long grain white rice

2 TBSP fine bread crumbs

1 large egg, beaten

1 1/2 tsp (1/2 TBSP) kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all meatball ingredients in a bowl
2. With damp hands or a small scoop (1/2 - 1 TBSP), form the mixture into meatballs. Set completed meatballs on a tray and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. If freezing, you can pop them in a freezer bag once they’re firm and then just add them frozen and cook to temp 
3. Follow soup directions above but do not add the ground beef in step 2. Instead, in step 5 after the soup is simmering, add the meatballs and let them cook to an internal temp of at least 160 degrees F they reach an internal temperature