Alfredo Garcia

Albondigas are a classic Mexican meatball served in a caldo, essentially making a meatball soup. I am not at all claiming my recipe to be authentic, lots of popular recipes will add chopped mint or epazote to the albondigas instead of cilantro & not all of them will use chipotle peppers, but chipotle & cilantro are two of my all time favorite ingredients so I had to use them.

Albondigas (Mexican Meatballs)

cilantro, half chopped, half for blending sauce

Add the ground beef to a large mixing bowl along with the half the chopped onion, half the chopped cilantro, half the chopped chipotle peppers if using, 2 eggs, all the seasonings(minus the tomato bouillon) & uncooked rice. Mix until combined & form meatballs, about the size of a golf ball.

To make the sauce, add the tomatoes, remaining onion & cilantro, garlic, tomato bouillon, 1 tsp oregano & 2 cups of chicken broth. Blend until smooth.

To a large pot, add 5 cups of water (or broth), bring them to a boil, add in the blended sauce, the remaining 3 cups broth. Let it come to a full boil.

Once the broth is boiling, add in the meatballs, cook for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to medium low, add in the carrots, potatoes & corn. Cook for 12-15 minutes.

Lastly add in the calabacitas/squash for the last 10 minutes.

Taste the broth for seasonings, add salt/pepper if needed.

Serve up the Albondigas with rice, squeeze of lime juice & tortillas.