Growing up in a Mexican household, many of us grew up having albondigas on a regular basis. It was definitely a staple at my home. I don’t know what it is about this Quarantine, but I have been craving nostalgic ‘mom dishes’ (as I like to call them). I believe it's because of how much time we are spending with family at the diner table these days. I’ve always enjoyed cooking for my family, but the love has evolved into something bigger now. These past weeks will be engraved in our memories for the rest of our lives. Our children will talk about them to their children, and I would love that conversation to be a positive one, surrounding food and everything mom cooked during that time.
This albondigas recipe is a hybrid between my mom’s recipe and my own. I hope all of you enjoy and, just like I did, make it your own. Don’t freak out if you don’t have an ingredient or two, feel free to substitute and experiment. This recipe is also a great one to do with kids, my 5 year old loves to get his hands dirty mixing up and rolling up the albondigas with mom.
Like always, love seeing your recipes on the gram, so please don’t forget to tag me @bricialopez!!
ALBONDIGAS: A MEXICAN MOMS MEATBALL SOUP
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS:
For Meatballs:
1.5 lb ground beef
1 tsp Sea Salt
½ tsp Pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp garlic powder
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
½ cup panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp. Grapeseed oil
For Sauce:
4 Tomatoes, cut in fours
¼ onion
2 garlic cloves
2 cups of vegetable stock
1 Parsley sprig
2 serranos (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all meatball ingredients (minus grapeseed oil) in a mixing bowl and knead gently to combine. Roll into small meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter. Set aside
Preheat your broiler and char the tomatoes, onions, and garlic for 10 minutes. Turn every 5 minutes so they roast evenly. You are looking for them to get charred, but not burned. Blend and set aside
In a dutch oven or big stockpot, heat grapeseed oil. Place meatballs inside carefully and heat over medium heat until lightly browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Carefully remove meatballs and set aside. Discard any excess oil. Add the blended tomato sauce to the same pan, along with the vegetable stock, parsley sprig and serrano. Allow to come to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the meatballs back to the pot and cover to cook for about 15 minutes.
Serve hot with black beans, canned pickled jalapeños and tortillas.