Best Albondigas Estilo Mama Meatballs Like Mama Makes Recipes

MAMA'S OLD-FASHIONED ALBONDIGAS (MEATBALL SOUP)

Mama's Old-Fashioned Albondigas (Meatball Soup) image

This is my number-one soup recipe, perfect for a cold rainy day, handed down to me by my mother. I hope you all enjoy it as much as my family has.

Provided by SpiceUpYourLife

Categories Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes Soup Recipes Beef Soup Recipes

Time 1h25m

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 25

Ingredients

1 gallon water
3 cups tomato sauce
1 yellow onion, quartered
4 tablespoons chicken bouillon (such as Knorr®)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
3 pounds lean ground beef
3 eggs
½ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup uncooked white rice
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon seasoned salt (such as Season-All®)
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
10 small baby potatoes
5 large carrots, sliced diagonally
5 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
2 zucchini, chopped
2 cups thickly shredded green cabbage
1 lemon, sliced into wedges
2 avocados, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Steps:

Pour water into a large stockpot over high heat. Stir in 3 cups tomato sauce, yellow onion, chicken bouillon, garlic, and 1 tablespoon dried oregano. Bring broth to a slow boil.
Combine ground beef, eggs, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, white rice, 1/4 cup cilantro, seasoned salt, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and cumin in a large bowl. Squeeze mixture with your hands until thoroughly mixed.
Scoop 1/4 cup of beef mixture and form in a ball. Lower gently into boiling broth. Repeat with remaining beef mixture.
Stir potatoes, carrots, and celery into the broth. Cover and simmer until meatballs and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini and cabbage. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and garnish with avocado and 1/4 cup cilantro.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 368.6 calories, Carbohydrate 29.5 g, Cholesterol 127.8 mg, Fat 15.3 g, Fiber 5.5 g, Protein 29.2 g, SaturatedFat 5.8 g, Sodium 1125.3 mg, Sugar 7.2 g

SOPA DE ALBóNDIGAS (MEXICAN MEATBALL SOUP)

Sopa de Albóndigas (Mexican Meatball Soup) image

Ask 10 people for a recipe for a particular dish, and you'll probably get 10 different recipes. Mexican sopa de albóndigas is no exception. Most variations are likely to involve vegetables, rice, a tomato-based broth and, inevitably, meatballs. Wesley Avila, the chef of Guerrilla Tacos in Los Angeles, learned this recipe from his mother, who learned it from her grandmother. His meatballs are hefty in size but light in density, and follow his family's tradition of adding uncooked white rice to the pork-beef mixture before shaping it into balls and cooking: "My mom always told me that when the rice is done, the soup is ready," Mr. Avila said. "She used it almost as a timer." The toppings - piled on as you would atop chili - skew cheffy, but they are entirely optional.

Provided by Alexa Weibel

Categories dinner, soups and stews, main course

Time 2h

Yield 6 to 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 26

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut on an angle into 1/2-inch slices
3 medium celery stalks, peeled and cut on an angle into 1/2-inch slices
1 large red potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 teaspoons ground cumin
8 cups chicken stock (2 quarts)
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
Crumbled queso fresco, panela or cotija
2 avocados, halved lengthwise, pitted and thinly sliced crosswise or diced
Mini sweet peppers, thinly sliced into rounds
Serrano and habanero chiles, very thinly sliced
Small fresh cilantro sprigs or chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges, for squeezing

Steps:

Prepare the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, rice, mint, garlic, salt and pepper. Using your hands, gently mix until well combined. Pinch off 2-ounce portions and gently roll between your palms to form golf ball-size rounds, transferring rounds to a sheet pan. (You should have about 28 meatballs.)
In large pot, combine the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery and potato; season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, oregano and cumin, and cook over medium, stirring frequently, until fragrant and tomato paste starts to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer over high.
Once the stock begins to bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low. Carefully add the meatballs, one by one, distributing them evenly in the pot until they're all submerged. If necessary, reduce the heat to reach a low simmer (this will keep the meatballs tender), and cook until the meatballs and rice are cooked through, about 40 minutes. (Resist the urge to stir for the first 20 minutes, otherwise you risk breaking the meatballs apart before they've firmed up.) Skim any impurities from the surface as the soup simmers.
Season to taste with salt. Divide the soup among bowls, about four or five meatballs per portion, and set out bowls of whatever garnishes you like.