Sopa de albóndigas is one of those comfort foods that bring back memories of my homeland. My mom always adds potatoes, carrots, chayotes, or some sort of vegetable into the tomato broth to make enough for a large family like ours. And it is a good way to get the kids to eat their veggies. The taste of mint in this dish is essential.
Meatball Soup Recipe | Sopa de Albóndigas
This recipe is adjusted from the book The Cuisines of Mexico by Mrs. Diana Kennedy, published in 1972. In her book the name of the recipe appears as: “Albondigas de Jalisco”, and as she has mentioned, every region has its own recipe and my guess is that everyone will say: "my mom’s albondiga's soup is the best".
This soup is great to have for the cold weather that seems like it will stick around here for a little longer. It will make you want to go back for a second plate, but refrain yourself from doing so and freeze some for later on. You’ll be glad you did!
En Español you can find a very similar recipe in Gusta Usted?, a cooking blog from my friend Nora in Mexico.
How to make Sopa de Albóndigas Recipe
Directions:
1. Cover the rice well with boiling water and let it soak for about 45 minutes. Place the meats in a large bowl and mix well. (Please check the ingredients list below)
2. Trim the squash and chop them very finely. Add the squash and chopped onion to the meat.
Blend the eggs with the herbs and spices until smooth. Mix well into the meat. Add salt.
3. Drain the rice and add it to the mixture. Make 24 meatballs, each about 1-½ inch in diameter, or any size of your preference.
4. Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes and cook it for about 5 minutes. Skin the tomatoes, place them in the blender along with the chopped garlic clove and blend until almost smooth.
5. Heat the oil and cook the onion gently, without browning, until soft.
6. Add the tomato puree, bring it to boil, and let it cook fast for about 3 minutes. Add the broth to the tomato sauce and bring it to simmer.
7. Add the meatballs, cover the pan, and let them simmer for about one hour and 15 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with plenty of sauce.
If you try it let me know how it turned out.¡
¡Buen provecho!
Mely,
More recipes:
Mexican Fava Bean Soup
Mushroom Soup
Sopa de Albóndigas
Ingredients
- ½ cup long white rice
- Boiling water enough to cover the rice
- ¾ pound ground pork finely ground
- ¾ pound ground lean beef finely ground
- 2 small zucchini squash about 6 ounces
- 2 eggs
- ¼ scant teaspoon oregano
- 3 sprigs of fresh mint or 1 teaspoon powdered dried mint
- 8 peppercorns
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ scant teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅓ onion chopped
- 3 medium tomatoes about ¾ pound
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- Boiling water to cover tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons peanut or safflower oil
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 4 cups of chicken broth
Instructions
- Cover the rice well with boiling water and let it soak for about 45 minutes. Place the meats in a large bowl and mix well.
- Trim the squash and chop them very finely. Add the squash and chopped onion to the meat. Blend the eggs with the herbs and spices until smooth. Mix well into the meat. Add salt.
- Drain the rice and add it to the mixture. Make 24 meatballs, each about 1-½ inch in diameter, or any size of your preference.
- Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes and cook it for about 5 minutes.Skin the tomatoes, place them into the blender along with the chopped garlic clove and blend until almost smooth.
- Heat the oil and cook the onion gently, without browning, until soft.
- Add the tomato puree, bring it to boil, and let it cook fast for about 3 minutes. Add the broth to the tomato sauce and bring it to simmer.
- Add the meatballs, cover the pan, and let them simmer for about one hour and 15 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with plenty of sauce.
- If you want to make this soup a little spicy add some sliced jalapeños to the simmering sauce. Or add some canned chipotles to the blender with the tomatoes.
majella
I've made this soup twice now and just absolutely gorgeous. We add choko (Chayote) as well. Can I ask though (as I haven't wanted to test it out in case it's wasted) can you freeze this soup? Thanks
Mely Martínez
Hello,
Yes, you can freeze this soup.
Janet Mackenzie
I want to request a soup recipe but it's not a response to this particular recipe. How can I do that?
Mely Martínez
Hello Janet,
What soup recipe are you looking for?
Joanne
We've made this 3 times now within a few weeks and have tripled the recipe each time to share with family. The mint in the meatball adds such a nice yet subtle surprise. My husband's family is from Jalos and he says that this reminds him of his mother's version. It's a winner I our household!
Mely Martínez
Hello Joanne,
Smart thinking to make triple the recipe of the meatball soup. I need to do that. Enjoy!
Maddie Spooner
Do I have to cook the rice before adding it to the meatballs?
Mely Martínez
Hello Maddie,
No, the rice is added raw, it will cook with the meat. Happy cooking!
Frog's Grandmama
Albondigas actually mixes the rice (uncooked) and other ingredients to the meatballs. Mint is an extremely important ingredient to Albondigas. It's in the meatballs and the soup itself. My Grandmother, Mother and Aunt never added vegetables like potatoes,carrots, zucchini and it wasn't a tomato-y soup color.
Mely Martínez
Hello Frog's grandmama -Tony,
There are many recipes for meatballs in Mexico, we have 32 States, each with very unique and distinct cuisine. Maybe the women in your family only knew the recipe from their town. If you are looking for one with rice and mint, check this recipe here in the blog. Meatballs with rice and mint. Happy cooking! And thank you for commenting!
Franklin
Isn't it supposed to be cilantro, not mint.
mmartinez
Hello Franklin,
Some cooks use cilantro others used mint, and even both at the same time.
Tiffany
Do we boil the rice for 45 minutes or soak the rice? I'm a little confused. I made the other recipe and I would like to make this one.
mmartinez
Hello Tiffany,
You soak the rice for 45 minutes, then you drain it.
Tiffany (tifferella)
Okay, I made this recipe. How do you cook the rice in the other recipe? I’m sorry. I got confused with the other recipe.
mmartinez
Hello Tiffany,
Do you meat the other meatball recipe that has a photo with a bowl of meatballs with rice in it? If you are talking about that one. It is red rice. Here is the link: http://bit.ly/2Heg7pv
Tiffany
Yes, thank you!